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| F LoBuono |
It was a rare Saturday afternoon - at least in terms of the traffic - there wasn't much! A holiday weekend, Memorial Day and the end of summer lie just ahead. And, most of the cool people must have already arrived at their wonderful holiday destinations down the shore or up in the mountains. I happened to be going to work.
On a normal Saturday, one of the main roads I take from my apartment and eventually into the City is Route 9W. A single lane in each direction, it clings to the side of the Palisades, high above the Hudson River. It certainly is a picturesque byway. But, some of the things that make it so pleasing are also things that can make it difficult to navigate - it's windy, narrow, and often clogged with bicyclists (who love it for THOSE reasons) riding on a virtually non-existent shoulder. There are also a series of traffic lights to negotiate. So, speeding is NOT recommended.
But, on THIS particular day, the road was wide open. There were not many other motorists to contend with and, much to my surprise, there weren't many bicycle riders either. It was almost eerie - like I missed the instructions to stay home! And, if that wasn't positive enough, I caught every traffic light in my favor. I mean I was making great time - so much so that I decided to make a quick detour and visit my mother in a nearby town. Again, I couldn't believe my good fortune - NO traffic and NO red lights!
I was almost at Stella's place when it happened. There is only one railroad crossing to pass on my way there. Well, guess what? Just as I was approaching the crossing, lights started flashing, bells began clanging, and, before I could sneak through, the gates came down. Now, all I could do was wait as a freight train that seemed to contain about 10,000 cars started to pass. I rolled down my car window, turned off the ignition and resigned myself to my fate. All the time that I had saved up to that point would now be "given back" at that rail crossing.
While I waited, I began to think that the whole trip was becoming a metaphor for life itself: things can be going so smoothly in our lives. We're livin' in the fast land and the future is clear and open. Then, without warning, we hit some type of roadblock, like that train crossing, that is beyond our control and all we can do is wait for it to pass. There is no other option.
After 5 or 10 minutes (I'm sure that it was closer to 5 but it felt like 50) the train passed, the lights stopped flashing, the bells clanging, and the gate lifted. Then, I was on my way to continue my journey.
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