Locked Up In Lubbock
I80 World's Largest Truck stop shining brighter than the Vegas Strip, tempting but we have hours to go, stockpiling our luck for the road ahead. Hazy blue streaks paint the dawn sky, fluffy white patches cushion ditches, snowy mottled farm fields insulated from this arctic blast. Leaving home brings last goodbyes, a tug at my heart, the lure of a new adventure and a few months respite from frigid Iowa winter overcomes a sentimental mood. That voice, "LOOKOUT construction ahead, pothole ahead, police ahead, traffic jam for 43 minutes ahead" jangles my nerves. Drive off a cliff and she would deftly recalculate from the bottomless ravine while diverting other travelers away from the spectacle. This miracle of technology provides a convenient scapegoat for the navigator of this ship for which I blame every wrong turn, traffic malady, every rude and clueless driver on the road. Annoying, persistent and smugly patronizing, we pitifully tolerate our persistent tra...