The Drive

Tonight, at approximately 9:17 p.m., I was in a state of peace. Nothing was on my mind except for the absolute perfection of what I was doing. I was driving. My hand wrapped around the thin blue steering wheel, sun setting, and Elvis on the radio. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The moment was perfect, in fact, I wish I could have filmed it to watch over and over again. Very rarely do I ever feel this way driving. We drive so much that we become numb to what's around us, we drive to get to a destination, we drive to accomplish a task, we drive to get home. I think we need to drive more just to simply drive. I cannot express how happy I was a half hour ago. 

I have this funny idea that cars have to be mated with certain times of the day and landscape. My 1966 Dodge Coronet is a big blue bomb. She is not fast and does not handle. Sunday I took the car to Rochester and back on the thruway at 65 mph. That speed was too much for the old girl, the wind noise was unbearable, 70 mph felt unsafe, and I felt like I was holding up traffic. On top of these factors the car started overheating so I had to pull off on the side of the thruway and let it cool. I found it to be a stressful ride. 

The car can be driven around town or on a slower thruway but tonight I truly found it's happy place. The crisp evening air keeps the motor cool. Rural areas provide the perfect speed limits coupled with empty open roads. That being said, another car might be better enjoyed running through a complex canyon road or doing huge thruway blasts state to state. The point is, I've been driving this car for over 4 years and I just found now where it's most content. The only way one can find the perfect cruise is by driving their cars, meaningless drives provide relaxation and a good man-to-metal bonding experience. Tonight I was on my own, I didn't have to meet anybody, I didn't have to keep up with other cars, I just picked up my keys and left. Try it sometime.