The first snowfall of the season has happened, and with it we have witnessed the miracle of modern day driving skills. Or rather the lack there of. The moment one snowflake fell, the driving potentials were classified.
The minivan drivers with their 101 bumper sticker patches all over their back window letting us know all the activities their kids are in, slow to a snail’s pace. Crawling through a white minefield, the traffic behind them growing like a python eating its prey. Contrarily the other SUV soccer parents flooring it on the gas to get to practice like their kid is training for the Olympics.
The 4×4 Tundra trucks continued their endless pursuit of chivalry “ I got this bro”, as they sped along the uncleared lanes screaming “ I was born for this “, as they find themselves spun out of control at the side of the road adding to further traffic as emergency services dig them and their bruised egos out of the snow banks.
The usual dark tinted window Japanese car drivers with their Boeing 747 spoilers on the back, in their 2 inches off the ground and noisy exhausts, question whether they should throttle up the nitrous and race and drift in and out of lanes like they do on non wintery days, or curb their enthusiasm and follow a novel concept of driving cautiously. They no longer are the fast and the furious, but the slow and irresponsible.
The massive trailers continue their mission as if a blizzard means nothing to their deadlines and plough through with enough zeal to lift the spirits of any religious group during a service.
The only ones unhurried are the service tractors dolling out sand and salt on the roads, with a cigar in one hand, and a hot chocolate in the other as if they were enjoying the sun rays at the ocean beach resort in the Bahamas.
The rest of us travel at the pace of whatever we feel comfortable at or at least at the speed of whoever is in front of us. Muttering to ourselves “ does anyone know how to drive in winter”, or “ Please God let me reach my destination safely, I promise to change my ways for the greater good.”
No one really knows how to drive during winter. That is the bottom line. Not the NASCAR or F1 wannabes nor the SUV driving bravados or the truck yahoos. No one. A wintery mix cannot prepare anyone but it can teach each of us to take a little time to exercise patience, humility and safety.
It is wise to remember that in a snow storm, there is no distinguishing of color of car or type of car, we are all the same. White vehicles traveling on frozen water.
Pause. Breathe. Stay alert. Such is the nature of winter driving. It comes to slow us down. Pace ourselves for a different speed of life. Now is not the time to pretend you are the Flash or the Millennium Falcon going at light speed in a snow squall. It is a time to SLOW DOWN.
Safe driving is the same as practicing love. Life is not a race. It is a marathon. Pace yourself.
………….
I love you
