Leisurely winter driving

The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Or so it is to be believed considering the way today's snow showers were breathlessly reported.

This was not a good day for a winter weather advisory. I was responsible for organizing an event that I didn't wish to cancel and couldn't reschedule if necessary. Even if some might choose to opt out at the last minute because of icy roadways, I didn't have that luxury. I had to be there.

Driving the snow covered streets wasn't my favorite thing ever, but I think I found the best solution for dealing with what can be a stressful situation. I accepted that the drive was going to be a pain and left so far in advance that even in a worse case scenario I would not be late. I fired up the iPod and settled in to the sounds of Pavement. Most importantly, I was in no hurry.

Good thing. It took about a half hour to go the two or so miles from my office to the interstate on ramp. Once I hit the highway, the road actually opened up. The interstate was a mess, but for some odd reason, especially at rush hour, there weren't as many cars on it as on the local streets. Cruising at 35 mph with three lanes morphed into two extra-wide ones made for a nice leisurely drive without much threat of spinning out. Getting flattened by a fast-moving semi? That was more likely.

For the drive home several hours later I elected to stick to city streets. It was a slower way of traveling, but I was much more relaxed. OK, so one car in front of me ran two red lights from a full stop and stopped at a green light--color blind? drunk?--but that was about as exciting as it got.

It turned out to be a pretty good night. The event went very well, and only two people elected not to attend due to the weather. For all the stress I've had behind the wheel during longer travels lately, tonight's slow-moving drives were, dare I say, enjoyable.