Commentary

The New Year came in with a promise of so many things, normal, until the phone rang. It was not good news. As my husband and I listened to the conversation on the other end of the line, we hurriedly threw some clothes in a suitcase, a toothbrush that I think was mine, some small bottles of shampoo from a previous trip, and the dog, and jumped in the car headed to Quilcene, Wash. It was a trip that we both knew was going to take some time because is seems like you can’t get there from here, at least not without traveling several different freeways, ferry rides and narrow rural roads. But, none the less, we had to get to our destination.

Traveling I-90 west from Spokane didn’t seem that eventful, the scenery was pleasant for the time of year, the weather produces some snow and sleet, but the roadway was not icy so we could motor at the maximum speed. It wasn’t until we summited Snoqualmie that we noticed a change in the way people handled their cars and themselves.

It was almost dare-devilish.

Even though we were cautious driving over snowy, slushy roadways, BMWs, Mercedes, Lexuses and other “high-falutin” vehicles passed us as if we were standing still–60 mph. It didn’t get much better when we finally reached Seattle. On four and five lane freeways, cars were hustling by, swerving in and out of traffic with no more than a fraction of an inch room to maneuver. Mind you, I have experience traveling in heavy traffic, but at least in Spokane people are courteous.

As we drove further into the downtown area, traffic became thicker, but not slower. They seemed to pick up speed. When we found the street to take us to the Edmonds ferry, people driving behind us stayed right on our bumper, even passing in the downtown area. To me it seemed reckless, but the behavior seemed normal to everyone around us.

As we sat waiting the 40 minutes before the ferry returned to port, we looked around to neighboring cars. Families, couples, singles all had screens to watch movies, play games, do work, chat with friends or family as if they were sitting in their own living room. It was a sight we had not experienced at that level until that very moment.

Sure, we talk on our iPhones, send text messages, even use our GPS, but watching movies or playing games was not part of our electronics usefulness. It was then that we finally understood why people who move to the east side of the Cascades finally exhale.

We have something pretty special on this side of the mountains which is time and space. We have our deadlines, but do not contend with the millions of people going in the same direction at the same time. We don’t have to scramble to get across five lanes of traffic right this second and the only traffic jam we have to deal with is due to slow-moving farm equipment.

We also noticed that people were less likely to adhere to the rules of the road on the west side of the mountains, but it seemed for good reason. No one wanted to be where they were at that moment and they were trying to escape as quickly and easily as possible. We can see why the masses think the way they do there in comparison to our neck of the woods.

We made our final destination and were able to accomplish our purpose before we had to make the return trip back through the metropolitan maze. So good to be home where we are blessed with time, space and each other.

Happy New Year! We wish you a bright and beautiful 2020.