August 25, 1995
Dear Everyone:
Some things just
warm the cockles of your heart.
The other night, I’m driving home from “Livermore”.
Traffic is fairly light because it’s summer and lots of people
are still on vacation.
Things don’t really tend to
slow down until a few miles before the
World’s-Worst-Freeway-Interchange-and-Highway-Reconstruction-Project
(due to be completed about the time that
Star Trek’s
Voyager gets back to
Federation Space). This
is about where I take the Rudgear Road Bailout.
As usual, there’s always someone passing you in the Carpool Lane
because they just can’t stand
crawling along at only 70 mph in a 55 zone.
Traffic suddenly
starts to slow down and you think, “Uh-oh.
Good thing I have a really long book-on-tape to listen to.”
But then I spotted the reason for the slow-down.
A
Highway
Patrol Officer, of the motorcycle variety, had caught some
self-centered speed demon and was writing out a ticket.
I don’t know how much it costs to get caught speeding in this
part of the world, but using the
Carpool Lane
without a second warm body in the vehicle
starts at $271 and no, I don’t know how they arrived at that
particular figure. Probably
has something to do with adding Sales Tax and other fees to round it up
to an even $300.
We pass the cop and
everyone starts speeding up again.
Just in case, I keep one eye on the rear-view mirror.
The cop is getting back on his bike.
Glance forward, glance back.
The cop has already pulled another car over.
This guy was having a field day.
The next evening,
I’m heading home and there’s another brief slow-down and, sure enough,
there’s our friend, harvesting on the south-bound side this time.
I love it when people get caught doing something I wouldn’t do.
Everything’s going
too fast, and it’s not just the traffic.
Do you realize that
Labor Day is a week
from next Monday? And, as
everyone knows, from Labor Day it’s a straight, downhill shot to
Christmas. As soon as the
stores put away the unsold coolers and fans, you can expect to see
Halloween costumes and Christmas Trees.
And all those
Projects that are supposed to be finished this year will start heating
up. Good thing
Warp
Speed doesn’t go past 9.78.
Speaking of
Christmas, I am working on this year’s Christmas List.
In fact, I had pretty much drafted it, but made the mistake of
leaving it with “Jeannie”, which means it’s not
lost, per se, just not
readily in sight for the foreseeable future.
So I’ve started over.
But this year, I’m going to have at least two people proof it for me
before it goes out. No
leaving someone out, or putting anyone in twice.
The List will be in the next Letter, or the one after that.
Love, as always,
Pete
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