5/20/2008 - Trinity

Trinity Doesn’t Work on Highways

Four hours of driving experience is not sufficient for Kansas City, especially if you got them in Shreveport. My friend Joyce completed my driving school; placing me behind the wheel of her old car during the worse traffic jams. Joyce had a heavy foot and because I didn’t know any other driving styles, I took it after her.

“Lydia! You too have a heavy foot, girl! Go girl, go! Didn’t you see the green truck? Ah! It was in your blind spot…” " nothing could scare Joyce about my driving: that was all she said when we almost collided with that truck and then another one. I didn’t even notice how I began driving without any fear on highways, trying to support conversation with Joy. I passed driving test because of Joyce’ help " I thought I became a really good driver.

My son Paul noticed a year later, sitting next to me in the car, “Mom! Did you hear about the road rage?!” I never heard of a thing like that before " the driving expected to be long: we were going from my work back home, “Nah! I haven’t” I prepared myself for a cultural lesson, I was glad I listened. “Have you seen that guy, pointing a middle finger at you? That is a bad, bad sign.” My idea of crass was very limited so it took me a while to grasp a concept of what my 10 years old son tried to tell me. “Where did you learn this?” I was absolutely amused by what I heard.

“Oh mom, on TV, where else? And at school! You can learn all kind of stuff there.” Little Paul began teaching me with adult patience, “You don’t change lanes right.” Here I could argue, I knew how to change lanes, “First, you show the signal, you turn your head to check the lane, and you turn the wheel!”

Paul calmly commented, “Yes, exactly! But not all three at once! You should turn the head to the right to check the blind spot, then show the signal, and only then you turn the wheel to the right.”

“Really?!!!  Is it not what I am doing?!!!” My ten years old son patiently instructed, “Mom! You do all three at once!” I still didn’t get it: of course, how else you do it? “Mom!” Paul started it all over. “First, you show the signal, then you turn your head to check the lane, and then, only then (!!!) you turn the wheel!” This time I almost cried " I did exactly the same what my son was telling me. But then I started mentally rewinding my way of doing it and I got horrified: Paul was right! I did show the signal, turning my head and the wheel at the same time. I was horrified " I did it for a year and was not killed. I am sure some people thought I was suicidal! That really frustrated me: I didn’t realize that every time I changed lanes I put my son and myself at risk! “Why didn’t you tell me this before? We could be both dead by now!”  I was embarrassed and upset at the same time.

“Mama, I am not backseat driver! Nothing could be worse than to have a person in your care, who tells you how to drive!”  That was true: when Irina came to see us in Kansas City for the first time and I proudly picked her up from the airport all I head was, “Stop the car! Don’t you see the truck next to you? Oh, it is so big… And the driver is crazy " let him pass, he is speeding!... Slow down! Why didn’t you check the right lane?... Do you know about the blind spot?”