We are not getting many Travellers posting their Tales at the moment so here's a general natter about Driving, prompted by my wild wet dark drive back from Oxford late last night.
Driving must be just about at the limit of human multi-tasking, mustn't it. Picture the scene..... very windy narrow pitch-black roads with occasional oncoming traffic, or alternatively slightly wider busier roads with a constant stream of blinding headlights hurtling towards you. Rain pelting the windscreen hard, or lighter, or just the odd sprinkle. No cats' eyes and no streetlights for virtually the entire journey through the rural, hilly wilderness between Kidlington and Broadway. Hills going up and hills going down and hills going round corners.
(This is a beautiful, scenic drive in daylight, and good conditions.)
This is how it goes:
Left hand:
changing gear up and down every few moments to cope with tricky hills and sharp bends.
Constantly toggling the headlights between high and normal beam for unpredictably intermittent yet frequent oncoming traffic
turning fan on/adjusting temperature to cope with any steaming-up of windows or sauna-ing the driver
Indicator duties
Steering
On call for handbrakes
Right hand:
Steering
Constantly adjusting wipers between off, intermittent, slow, fast (at times all 4 settings needed in one short period as the rain teased drivers everywhere with its whimsies)
Right and left hands doing all these things at the same times of course.... it's not like it's either, or!
Feet: constantly braking, clutching, accelerating
Have I missed anything?
Poor leftie was also intermittently toggling radio buttons in an attempt to escape various god-squad progaganda, this being Sunday - I don't mind the odd hymn or carol but listening to various mainstream delusions about how 'militant atheists' are spoiling the nice, lovely chats religious people want to have with their imaginary goblin in the sky in public (inflicting compulsory opening prayers at the start of council meetings, eg, apparently it is 'unreasonable' to object to sitting through nutters chanting worshipful praises to made-up invisible friends at a secular business meeting) is to be avoided if one's BP is not to rocket through the roof.
the nice, lovely chats religious people want to have with their imaginary goblin in the sky in public ... nutters chanting worshipful praises to made-up invisible friends
And you are absolutely right, Merry. Amazing how the dog-botherers always squeal oppression or intolerance when all that is happening is that someone has questioned their right to (intolerantly and oppressively) impose their nonsense on everyone else!People who Mean Well keep saying to me that I should learn to drive and get a car then I could get out more.
I don't because my imagaination of how difficult driving is matches with Merrys description there.
So thank you to Dear Merry for reminding me that I Am Right.I feel queasy just thinking about it. That is way past my multi-tasking abilities which is why I'm not safe to drive.
Shame about those suffering from chronic religion. Maybe one day we'll have a cure for those afflicted with this debilitating condition.
