On the Road Again

I've seen more of our Texas highways and byways than normal lately. Most weekends I have to go to see about one elder or another. Right now I'm in the middle of a series of workshops and have to drive because of all the boxes and equipment that we need for the workshops.

I like driving. I like to get on the road and let my mind wander. Sometimes it stays focused on "what's the next thing I have to do." Sometimes I have to work out what my next presentation or speech is going to be about. It helps to imagine what I might say. I can go through three or four versions of a speech before I get to the point where I have to actually deliver it, and, sometimes, a phrase or two that I've worked out behind the wheel will actually be quite helpful.

As often as not, however, I let my mind just wander into imaginary territory. For a while, I was plotting novels. I had a couple of plots that intrigued me, and driving time was time to see where the stories would go. The stories never got written, but the plotting was rather fun.

These days I'm having imaginary "If I were president" daydreams. If I were president, what could I do to bring the country back together? If I were president, what could I do bring civility back to public discourse? If I were president, how could I do a better job as commander-in-chief? Pretty cheeky, I suppose, for someone who's never served in the military or held an elected office. But still a good way to work through the problems that I see around me while trying to figure out what the solutions might be.

I rarely listen to music. I used to carry tapes for listening, but eventually got too busy to remember to bring them along. Recently, I discovered NPR and my grandson taught me how to set the radio button so I could find it again. But most trips eventually take me out of range and I'm back to searching the dial. That gets old way too quickly, so I'm back to my imagination again. It's more relaxing in the long run anyway.

Happily Texas roads are still pretty good. I don't like the drive down I-35 to San Antonio, so I take the back way. It's prettier, less hectic. I rather like the short stretch where the highway is only two lanes and you can only pass when a climbing lane shows up. That can slow things down even more. If I plan ahead and leave early enough--which I definitely do for the SA run--getting caught behind a rancher's truck is just part of the experience--until I hit the climbing lane and can pick up the pace a bit. I haven't found an acceptable alternative to I-35 north, so I just have to go with the flow on that one. It doesn't seem as crowded as the section between Austin and San Antonio, so I can survive the heavy traffic as far as Georgetown. Things flow rather well after that--despite the fact that there seem to be endless highway construction projects between here and Dallas right now. Of course, I've all but given up on driving into Houston on I-10. Much easier to take 290 and see the little towns now that Hempstead is no longer a bottleneck. And there's the added bonus of picking up sausage in Elgin on the way home.

I'm not going to be happy when any of these roads is turned into a toll road. I might even have to start thinking about flying again. At least I can sleep on the plane. (Yes, I do that.)