Three hours there. Four hours back. Bumper to bumper.
That may sound like hell on Earth when you’re talking about the slower than turtle shit traffic in my home city of Atlanta. But hey! I’m sure that your commuting world is a pretty nasty one too.
Way back in 1999 when I was starting out in the world of auto auctioneering, I had to drive long distances to make it to gigs. We’re talking about drives that were often close to the 200 mile mark and three to four hours a pop.
It was a much safer world back then. Fewer cell phones. Almost no texting. Plus we had a Waffle House in every other corner here in Georgia. This meant, in terms of personal health, I wasn’t tempted by 27 Starbucks and 32 Dunkin’ Donuts like I am now.
One grilled chicken and an unsweet iced tea were the perfect meal for me back then and… I sat down at the restaurant to eat it. Even if it was Chick-Fil-A.
These days commuting is less boring but often times more brutal thanks to the daily stupidity that passes as driving.
Double yellow lines? Mere suggestions. Stop signs? Rolling at best. Pedestrian traffic? My car’s bigger! Get out of my way bro’!
I have pretty much seen Darwin’s worst in my travels. From a happy Jack wacking on his stack. To a knockdown drag out fistfight between two rednecks who thought the nearby cars were wrestling props. One of those male skanks got taken down by a cop right in front of my car.
When Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” he obviously was referring to driving in today’s Brave New World. Where safety comes between text messages and sharing crap on Facebook. .
So what about you? What was your longest or worst commute? Where did it happen?