Driving

I got my driver license in 1960 and have been driving ever since. That is a very long time and a lot of miles. I drove in Europe, Canada, the Caribbean and naturally in the US. I drove up and down the East Coast of the US several times. What I am trying to say is that I do have some experience in driving.

However, a few years ago I decided not to drive anymore. My wife is a very good driver and I have full faith in her driving skill. Not to sound sexist but she drives like a man! I stopped because of my age and also, I have a little vision problem. So why endanger the people around me, I stopped. Even though I passed the vision test and have a valid license, I feel better just to sit in the passenger seat.

And that is not as easy as it sounds. I always had my way of driving and looking back 60 years I wasn't such a bad driver. The hard part is not to be an annoying backseat driver. I watch my wife handling traffic and trying very hard not to offer suggestions, warnings or just plain telling her what to do. I have no right on this front. She is the captain, and I am just a lowly sailor on that ship.

She does things I wouldn't do, or she takes routes I wouldn't take, or she drives slower than I would and a few more things. But if I want to eat dinner at night, I better keep my mouth shot.

The hard part is that when we are going on a long distance trip my job is to make sure she stays awake. To sit in the passenger seat and just stare out the window is very hard. I try to engage her in conversations but eventually I become very sleepy. I am not permitted to sleep while she is driving. She claims it is very difficult for her to keep driving when I am sleeping next to her. So, I stay awake, fighting against closing my eyes. By the time we arrive at our destination I am more tired than she is.

A million times I think how nice it would be to drive again, but just for safety's sake I am not pushing this subject anymore. I accept things the way they are.

Que sera, sera!