I realized that I had grown up in a
sheltered time whenever I spent time with my grandfather in Edmond, Oklahoma. Even though I had been driving for years, he
would insist on driving to town. We
would come to Interstate 35 which had not yet been equipped with on ramps and
overpasses, so my grandfather would simply have to cross the six lanes of high
speed traffic in his sometimes reliable car.
Sitting in the back seat I kept a 360-degree watch on the traffic
closing in on us, honking at us, sometimes changing lanes to avoid us, and
frequently communicating with us by hand signal. After reaching the other side of the
interstate, my grandfather’s wife (his last out of I'm not sure how many) would turn calmly to
him and say, “Made it again Dad,” and he replied in an equally nonchalant
voice, “Made it again,” and completed his journey.
One of my favorite stories!
ReplyDelete