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Sucks To Be Me
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Sucks To Be Me
The Driver
It’s a fact of life, the majority of People learning a skill will settle for marginal to good, very few aspire for excellence.Of all the places to be marginal it’s not Driving. If a Doctor settled for marginal, in your time of need he would not be there. Same for Driving, when the time comes for you to Perform you won’t be there for you and the poor fool who puts your life and his in your hands. In Pinellas County 14,15 and 16 Kids are out four am in the morning stealing cars and racing them over 100 MPH to their death all for the thrill of it. It’s the example that we set for them that Driving is a mindless game and that we are all Racecar Drivers.
One day while traveling on Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania descending Hazelton into Mountain Top, at the point where 80 and 81 intersects 300 yards away a blind Bend awaits, as I entered the Bend at 65 MPH 15 MPH over the speed limit, the Traffic came to a full stop. Still approaching stalled traffic I began working on my Breaks with short quick stabs in order to not lock them up and farther shoving the VW embedded under the Tractor Trailer, whose Driver’s Head just rolled past me on the Highway. It appears that the Driver of the VW had approached the Bend too fast and reacted slowly to the stalled Traffic.
Witnessing something like that only make me stronger in my commitment to myself and my Driving instructor . Drive like I’m the only one out there that knows what I am doing. He Harped those words like he was selling something to me, I bought it and have saved my life and others many times. Lesson learned from the V.W. Never over-drive. Overdrive is when you Drive faster than you can see or stop, such as a Blind Bend, heavy Fog, poor Lightning or being intoxicated. Heavy Fog, another time while traveling interstate 80 in the Poccono Mountains on a crisp Winter Afternoon, Skies clear and Sun shining. At the Crest of this Mountain lays a flat strip of Roadway, for two hundred yards it was covered with 2-3 inches of Snow and at least 100 Drivers smacking into each other and into the Woods, everything from fender benders to kissing Trees in the Woods. As I approached the Crest I realized that We had just entered an Atmospheric Disturbance.
The 100 plus Drivers ahead of me had Overdriven themselves into it. As soon as my eyes focused through the Thick Snowflakes, I saw once again Traffic coming to a stand still on 2-3 inches of Snow, dead ahead is a Tractor Trailer waiting for me to rear end him and the Van behind me who is still coming too fast to push me into the Truck. If I apply my Breaks too hard I am going to skid into the Truck, with the touch of a Feather I veered away from the Truck to find safety in the middle Lane, the Van following me rear ended the Truck everyone else was in the Woods, as I approached the Crest I took my Foot off the gas because I could not see beyond twenty yards.Thats what not Overdriving is all about.
Am I the only one who walked away from that Fiasco with the idea that Overdriving is bad any time of the Day on any Road surface. There is a time for Running and there is a time to stay within the Safety Apparatus(speed limit) when I am traveling interstate I keep it between ten and fourteen MPH over the speed limit, the faster I travel the higher the awareness and diligence, knowing that whatever can go wrong will go wrong, all the more reason not to Overdrive. It’s only a Fool that exceeds speed limits by 20-30 or 40 MPH the outcome, huge fines loss of License and loss of lives. Sometimes I think that it sucks to be me, always looking out for Fools who think that Driving is a mindless game. At that point I reflect back to all the bad accidents that I have seen and realize that someone have to be the Driver.
Making Connections
Connecting with people is one of the coolest things, encountering someone for the first time and within 10-15 minutes you are talking with them like you know them. Communicating and touching each other’s soul mentality and spiritually. These are the moments that I live for, here I am sitting in the Park at the farthest of six Gazebos, minding my own business trying to create my next Blog . It was noon so people eating their lunch at a Park Bench is common. What is uncommon is that they choose my Bench (my space). Two Ladies walked right up to my Bench bypassing five others, at that point I could have been a Snob or acted in an unfriendly manner, got up and changed Benches, as many would do seeing all the other empty tables but choose mine. They asked me if I mind, I welcomed them, one lady inquired about my camera equipment, being a people person I opened up. I introduced myself and began to tell them that I was a Blogger and that I wrote on my own Website. She asked for my website address punched it in scanned it quickly and asked what do I write about.
Unwittingly she had opened the Floodgates of dialogue, we spoke for a good while about a lot of things. Finally we got around to the subject of Parenting. Then she posed the hardest question about parenting, what do you do with Children that you pour your Heart, Soul and resources into and the underBelly of Society intrigues them more than embracing your Values. My response was lightning, you leave them alone after the umpteenth time of beating your Gums. I elaborated, some people you can perform Lobotomy on and you are not going to change their way of thinking and who they choose to be. She agreed instantly and congratulated me for the insight. It’s almost time to go, they had to go meet her Daughter high up in the RNA’ s Rankings, seemed the daughter worked long hours at the Hospital. So when the opportunity arises to spend time together they jumped on it. I am loving every minute of it, some kids grow up get their Degrees, their dream jobs and Homes and forget, as my mother would say who put them there.
My perception of this Lady was that she was a hardworking woman who had raised her children to the best of her ability, had success with some and not with others. It appears that she had either seen or experienced the heartbreaking trauma of pouring your Life in a child and they turn out to be Bastards that you don’t even know who or what they are. Something that many of us fail to understand is that Children are their own individual Being. You can try your best to mold them into World Class Citizens, if they choose otherwise, you are not going to change them. I went to High School with a Minister’s son who sold his affections to the highest bidder. I used to kid my mother that she brought home the wrong baby from the Hospital. Many times it seemed like I was right, the grief that I caused. Some of us kids find their way to the Light and become enlightened to the fact that our Parents aren’t our Enemies. I continued by telling her that when we have done our best and they turn out bad, that those are just blows that life throws at us. Also that it’s for us to deal with it and move forward.
It’s one thing to write about the subject and another to speak up front, up close and personal with one who picked your Brain to see how much you know about the subject that you are writing about. As a parent, been there, growing up badass ,been there done that. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me how people choose to live their lives and who they choose to be. This was one of the best encounter with a stranger. We said goodbye and just like that a bond was formed and I had a new reader on the Site. So there it is in a nutshell people being people and getting along. It’s amazing how we focus on the bad in people and forget to embrace the good when we encounter it. As I have said before I could have been a Snob, instead we communicated and touch each other’s lives, isn’t it a shame that the World can’t live like this. “Reach out and touch somebody’s hand and make this World a better place ” Diana Ross.
The Other Half
As the Song goes don’t surrounded yourself with yourself, never more so true when it comes to Travel. My Mother didn’t leave us with any money, she didn’t make a lot of it but she spent whatever she made wisely. She took care of us well and she didn’t deprive herself. She thought us well, lead by example, I don’t know how she did it but she knew how to save money.
Some people save feverish to die and leaving their money for people undeserving. Not to say that describes me. She knew how short and unpredictable Life was so she always found the time and resources to Travel. Treating and pampering yourself is not an option, you work hard to afford the luxuries of Life. One of her favorite quotes “if you don’t travel you don’t know how the other half lives” how true. Considering that if you only play in your Sandbox you could never experience the pristine waters of Clearwater Beach or the Turquoise sparkle of Montego Bay.
Mother should have written Travel Blogs, whenever she returned from her Cruise Ship travels, Days on in she would have us mesmerized telling stories of fine living and Dining at the Captain’s Table. Somewhat of a Celebrity I guess Dining with the Captain. Laying on the Subject Deck as long as you want reflecting on how hard you work all year long. Your contribution to the Company making one hundred million Dollars, then saying that there will be no Bonus this year and all the other Crap you put up with all in the name of making a living.
That’s what Vacations and breaking away from the Drudgery of life is all about. Remember all work and no play will burn you out and make you do stupid things like I did as a youngster like going to work, punch in and punch right back out after deliberating the entire ride to work if I should continue putting up with my idiot Boss. There are so many other reasons for breaking away such as your Health, bottled up stress will kill you, when I met Henry he told me that he had ten thousand Dollars stached money that his wife knew nothing about.
Henry had worked all his life on the Waterfront, never took a vacation or a Cruise Ship weekend Getaway, decided to retire at sixty. Seems that his wife had always put her Family ahead of him, that is the story for the ten thousand Dollars. One Day she moved in a Nephew without discussing it with him, living next door I couldn’t help overhearing the intense discussion, then there was dead silence, this was the last straw for Henry, the stressful discussion had killed him. Retired at sixty never collected one Social Security Check, never took a vacation and never got to spend that ten thousand Dollars, for that matter no one did because I was the only one who knew of it’s existence and told no one else. Now if that’s not a Story for you to call your Travel Agent, well go ahead and take it with you the way the Pharaohs did.
Where is The Fire
Moving From Pennsylvania to Tampa has been a culture shock for me. In PA we had regular Auto Insurance and yearly vehicle inspection. Tampa have no fault Insurance, sometimes no Insurance and no vehicle inspection. These are all catalyst for creating Horrendous Driving conditions and Dangerous Drivers. Knowing that collecting Tickets and Wrecks your Insurance Carriers won’t drop you or raise your Premiums sky high so you could not afford to collect Tickets and Wrecks there is no Deterrent for mindless Driving. Watching the Morning News is an ongoing Soap Opera for me, each and every day there are horrendous wrecks. Driving to and from Work is a reoccurring Horror Movie.
Considering that I have been to Driving University, Driving Taxi in Manhattan at eighteen, taking defensive Driving courses, Driving Courier Service and Drove Commercially for many years. There is nothing that Tampa or Daytona Raceway can throw at me that would overwhelm me. But what of the new Driver or the Seniors who needs their mobility to get to the Doctor or shopping. I can not put it in any stronger Words they are all Maniacs Mindless Drones behind the wheel. Who told these Fools that they know how to drive, when many of them never went to Driving School and had a Professional instructor like I did at sixteen, who told me to always drive like I am the only one on the Road who knew what I was doing and to always know my surroundings, also to back off from the maniac on his way to Hell thinking his name is Mario or Dale.
The time and effort my Driving instructor invested in me is the Foundation for my Safe Driving Page at adixon7611.com the other components are watching your mindless approach to Driving. Back in PA while working as a Contract Employee I knew the Project Manager so I got a Friend a job. You would think that having two hungry kids would be incentive to develop responsibility. There was not one day that I pulled up in front of his House that he was outside waiting for me. Each and everyday we had an argument over my Driving, he complained that I Drive like an old Woman because I wouldn’t do sixty in a thirty MPH Zone. Eventually we both got fired for being late everyday.
Which brings us back to Responsibility, No fault and no vehicle inspection makes the Commute a living Hell with people who think it’s a crime to wake up a half an hour early. They wreck havoc an the traffic patterns Barreling through a slight opening, changing lanes with reckless abandon, staying in the left Lane until they are within fifty yards of their exit Ramp expecting everyone to let them in, thus Road Rage is a daily occurrence. In conclusion let me interject that it is only a Fool that does things the same way for twenty five years looking for different results.
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