Page 8 - KCRPCA Sept-Oct

EDITOR’S COLUMN
8
Sep / Oct 2017
Stan Thorne
The total eclipse was this week and Bob Wollenman held a viewing party. It was a great turnout for a spontaneous event. Even though clouds and a little rain hampered our viewing of totality, we were all in good spirits.
After saying my good byes, I hit the road. Unfortunately, so did thousands of other drivers. The highway was grid locked. The Ghost does not like 5 mph.
Siri said I could save 30 minutes, if I took the next exit. I did. She was wrong. It seemed I had discovered yet another grid locked train of vehicles, just snailing along on a back road. That’s when I knew I needed to take things into my own hands. Sorry, Siri, time to turn you off. “Hey, Siri. End navigation.”
Soon, I didn’t know what road I was on. I didn’t know what time it was. All I knew was that I had found open roads and some good tunes on the radio.
Eastern Kansas is lled with rolling farm elds, laid out like some oddly shaped checkerboard of wheat, corn and soybeans. Driving a few farm elds west, followed by a few elds south was my strategy.
The storm clouds seemed to chase me, some more threatening than others, all determined to keep the sky grey. I was not able to escape their pursuit until I found what looked to be a major road headed south.
U2’s song, Beautiful Day, came on the radio, and a young boy sitting on his toy tractor by the side of the road waved at me. Americana. I live for these moments.
Cresting the last hill, I could see I was on K7 with a stoplight in the distance. When had I last seen a stop light? An hour or more ago? Traf c is the quickest way to bring you back to reality. At least they were moving along.
With the sound of my exhaust burbling through my neighborhood, I rolled into my garage. “Hey, Siri. Text Deborah. Ask her what’s for dinner.”
Turn off the GPS
ADND GO FOR A DRIVE
eciding to take the long way With the words of some forgotten home is easy for me. Simply turn high school lecture rolling around in my your GPS off, aim in the general brain, “go west, young man” seemed
direction and keep driving.
like a logical direction.
- Stan