Northbound In The Southbound Lanes

“What’s holding up the traffic?!?”  I said, out loud, to no one in particular.  It seems like every time we take Taylor back to school we get stuck in traffic right around this same area on Interstate 65.  “What is it, this time?”  I wondered.

Rachel was sleeping, so she did not respond to my questions.

Taylor was sleeping, so he did not respond to my questions.

Nadia was awake.  But she’s learned to simply allow me to talk to myself.  That’s when some of my most amusing conversations occur.

I was complaining to Nadia and offering suggestions for what I thought might be causing the traffic congestion, as we inched along the highway, moving a few feet and then stopping completely for a while.  I used to commute to work on the suburban Chicago interstate highways every day, so I’ve often experienced traffic problems, but I don’t know if anyone ever gets to the point that heavy traffic congestion doesn’t bother them.

In fact, some of the folks at my church have told me that their most un-Christian behavior is often evoked during traffic jams.  (I might just schedule a special “confession” time related specifically to transgressions committed while driving.  I don’t know, yet, I’m thinking about it.  I bet you’re thinking: “That Dan, sure knows how to have a good time.” Huh?)  Congested traffic can definitely test the patience.

After about 30 minutes of terrible traffic conditions, I heard a rumbling sound and saw a large tractor trailer truck driving in our direction.  Are you getting this?  He was driving northbound on our southbound side of the highway!  He was driving on the shoulder of the road and considering the amazing danger in what he was doing, he was actually driving very quickly.  I would estimate that he was moving at 40 to 50 miles per hour.  Again, he was on the shoulder of the southbound lanes, driving northbound at a fairly high speed!

I said, “Look at this!  This guy is crazy!”  And because of his rate of speed he went past us and was gone pretty quickly.

Taylor momentarily stirred from his sleep, “What’s going on?”

I said, “A truck was coming in our direction on the wrong side of the highway at about 50 miles per hour!”

“Oh,” he said and drifted back to sleep.

“It was wild!” I exclaimed. “Our very lives were in peril!  I’m not kidding!”

But a soft, contented snoring persisted.

Shortly after the crazy truck passed us, the traffic slowly began to pick up and soon we were driving along at regular highway speeds once again.  It was a quick moment of strangeness and excitement and then just as quickly, we returned to normal.

“Well, you don’t see that very often,” I said.  And, stirred up by that unusual event, I had a very amusing conversation with myself for the remainder of the trip to Anderson.  They all slept…but, well, that’s part of the return to normal.