Sid McKeen: Observations through the windshield
Driving back and forth between Maine and Florida twice a year, as we've done for more than a decade now, you get a small chance to take the pulse of America on a regular basis, or at least the Atlantic Seaboard slice of it.
Based on our mid-May trip, I'd have to say the state of our union, as the presidents always describe it, is good. Admittedly, ours is a cursory inspection. We judge only what we see and hear on the fly, and only from the most casual of conversations.
Some random observations:
- Through 1,600 miles and a dozen states, only one driver was moved to display a left middle finger as he roared past on our right, apparently incensed that we remained seconds too long in the passing lane. Ironically, he grabbed an exit ramp 500 feet after flipping us the bird. Are people getting more tolerant? I don't know, but we've seen many more flips on earlier trips.
- You can get one night's sleepover free with the savings you make on the price of gas, compared to last year. We got even luckier. Running low on Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania, we exited and got a fill-up for 81 cents. Some kind of special sale? No, we were told, the pump occasionally fails to register correctly. What to do? Nothing, the attendant told us, it's too complicated to correct. She waved us on with a furtive whisper: "You just won yourself a free tank of gas." I half expected to discover 10 miles down the highway that we'd filled up on Diet Coke.
- Except for the extended-finger guy, we found the great majority of drivers careful, courteous and considerate. So is road rage a thing of the past? Probably not, but maybe now with the soon-to-be use of cars that drive themselves, we humans are beginning to realize we can all be replaced.
- Speaking of the marvels of technology, my daughter had flown down from Vermont to accompany me and do most of the driving. Her husband, back home, followed us intermittently by tracking our iPhone with his own. Once, we got lost in local traffic trying to find a restaurant in mid-city. Came immediately a text message from her spouse five states away: "See, you turned the wrong way coming out of Day's Inn."
- On Route 495 outside Boston, one of the busiest speedways in the country, we saw a huge cloud of dust and debris as a tan-colored SUV struck a guard rail just ahead of us in the passing lane. His vehicle never lost speed as it screeched and rubbed against the rail, then threaded its way across three lanes of traffic and exited down an off-ramp. Always the ex-newsman, I couldn't help announcing the event in headline language to my audience of one: "Man in Tan Van Hit and Ran as if by Plan."
- Making time on the road usually means gobbling down unpalatable fast-food you wouldn't wish on a neighbor's dog. In New Windsor, New York, just off I-84 outside Newburgh, we found a little place right next to our motel that served fare too good for a king. Run by four Greek-American brothers, it's called Ikaros Diner Restaurant. If you're ever in the neighborhood, do yourself a big favor and enjoy its simple elegance.
- Travel is broadening. People are good. :Life goes on.
Sid McKeen can be reached at mckeensidney@gmail.com.