It was late on a Friday night in the early 80’s.

 

Although, we have two sons of our own, we also had a foster son. At that  time, he wanted to demonstrate to me that he could drive a car. It was after an “out of town” soccer match, and we were heading for home.

 

Unfortunately , I believed him.

 

As he started to drive, we began  to veer of the road. All of a sudden, reality became surreal and in slow motion. We were heading for the front porch of a house.

 

We hit it.

 

Then, we bounced off  the first house and plowed into a second  one.

 

Fortunately, we came out of the accident without any major problems.

 

This was not true for my oldest son’s significant other. She was hit at an intersection in Minneapolis and was thrown through the windshield. After 2 years of corrective and cosmetic surgery, she looks just fine.

 

In the winter of 94’, my  youngest son was driving  late on I-80 with two friends. Driving behind them, a truck driver who had fallen  asleep at the wheel, plowed into the back of my son’s car and the impact totaled the car and  flipped  it off  the road. Miraculously, no one was hurt. The trucker, seeing the young men in shock, gave a phony address and  quickly  headed  away from the scene.

 

In 96’ I was  hit in 2 rear in collisions. Neither were my fault. My mother and step father were in a broadside collision this year. Again, they were not guilty.

 

Auto accidents.   

 

Periodically, there are reports from numerous sources that a number of Americans are involved in road rage, where these drivers take their anger out on the rest of us. The results is auto mishaps.

 

For millions, we experience road anxiety.

 

We believe that there is a certain illogic in hurtling tons

of metal down interstates at 50 to 80 miles an hour in which at times, there is no way out. There are cars driving just as fast behind us, beside us, and in front of us. We are just a few seconds away from death, dismemberment, disfigurement, or disability.

 

What we do is drive moderately, grip the wheel of our car,  grit our teeth, and  have pepper gas within reach. Nor, do we have signs on our bumpers that say  "pro-life" or "pro-choice/pro-child." Anything of controversy just telecasts that you are spoiling for a fight.

 

At times, I show a CNN tape in my classes entitled “The decline of civilization.” In one segment, a seasoned highway patrolman is driving in an unmarked car with a reporter. He is visibly nervous  and he suffers one close encounter after another on a busy interstate. He tells the reporter, he avoids the traffic on his “off” hours. Unremarkably, when he is in uniform and  in his patrol car, folks are down right decent and lawful.

 

Those of us with road anxiety, really like to drive during light traffic, but we have numerous strategies to survive the morning/evening/holiday rush. A colleague, formerly from Denver, said his school gave the option that one could schedule the beginning-ending of  work hours BEFORE or AFTER  the traffic rush.

 

Most of us with road anxiety burrow in our homes during the busy holidays. Given a choice, we would rather fly than drive our cars.

 

At the time that this is being written, the last funeral that my wife Jennifer and I attended was on  a chilly morning in May. There was an overflow crowd in a little Lutheran church in rural Monticello.

 

The death of this good soul was from an auto fatality.

 

For many of us, when it comes to heavy traffic, we chose to take the long way home.

 

It may be that we have decided that in terms of destination, when traffic is nerve racking, you can’t get there from here.

 

Unless, you want to lay your life or limb on the line.