Why do I have nothing to say? Unquestionably, there is an entire world of ridiculousness that lies at my doorstep. I mean, I live in Detroit. Unfortunately, I have gone back to school and am having a hard time learning how to do anything other than go to class, memorize minute details, sleep, and wish I was sleeping. As a consequence I now rock a slight pauch and the interesting ruminations I once had whilst sitting on my porch and drinking a beer after a day at work are now gone.
Actually, even in the midst of blocking out the outside world, a few things stand out to me. First and foremost: driving in this city will teach you to face your inner demons, speak in tongues and simultaneously revere and despise life. I have witnessed NYC traffic in the few months I was there this summer and been stuck in LA traffic numerous times. Nothing transcends god awful driving like Detroit traffic. It's not that you are stuck in traffic endlessly (although, you are stuck in traffic for much longer than you need to be. Honestly, shouldn't it be on someone's agenda in a large city to make sure traffic flows in an orderly fashion? Without fail, as soon as your light turns green, the light down the block with turn yellow. Worst of all, once you notice this trend, each subsequent occurence gnaws at your soul), it's that nobody cares. Nobody cares about red lights, nobody cares about pedestrians (those in wheelchairs are no exception), nobody cares about oncoming traffic, one ways, checking blindspots - etc, etc, etc. People run red lights frequently - and not just in the dead of night. I don't dare accelerate as soon as a light turns green, but wait a few seconds to make sure no more Buick LeSabres will come barreling through- hell bent on on stomping on my little Honda. I saw a middle aged woman in a wheel chair very nearly get bowled over by a car that made no effort to slow or stop. Granted, she was jay-walking (or rolling, or whatever) - but the car didn't even try to swerve. The most amazing thing was - she didn't really seem to mind. Acted as if nothing happened. And this seems to be the norm. People just seem to accept it. So great is the acceptance, in fact, that everyone seems to join in the Mad Max atmosphere of Detroit streets.
Give this man a whistle and maybe he can do something about Detroit streets...
While my fear of dying on the roads has jumped markedly since I have moved here, my fear of incurring some kind of traffic violation has decreased greatly as well. In the world of points and auto insurance - I almost call this a fair trade. Nevertheless, I am always happy when I wind up arriving safely to wherever it is I was going. It's just one of the many things I'm thankful for as I roll into this Thanksgiving long weekend.
1 comment:
You aren't lying, dude. Nothing surprises me about Detroit traffic. Whether real or only existing in my imagination, it seems completely plausible that one might see a Ford Mustang riding alongside a four-legged mustang, both of which are destined to be making illegal traffic maneuvers.
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