Here's my wisdom for today. Driving on traffic-less New England roads in the fall while listening to classic hip hop is one of life's greatest pleasures.
Ordinarily, I am not an advocate of driving. Particularly when you live in a city with decent public transportation, cars are not only unnecessary but kind of a nuisance. Gas, insurance, and parking are a pretty boring way to spend your hard earned dollars, I think. Moreover, there's all the assorted concerns about protecting our Earth and so forth, and its not helping you get any physically fitter, that's for sure.
But today, I have a confession: sometimes I love driving.
I don't own a car. Well, technically, there is a decaying Saab parked in suburban Maryland that I can lay some claim to and drive when I'm there. But here in Boston, I walk, I take the train, we bike on the tandem, or Nic drives me in his car. And I'm very comfortable and happy with this situation. In fact, if a situation requires me to drive, I usually attempt to avoid, then fret and hem and haw if I have to go through with it.
Today, I had to borrow Nic's car to drive myself to a conference in Providence, and the process was not without the usual internal fussing. But not long after I was on the road, I remembered what a treat driving can be.
Here's what I need in order to love driving:
1. Its got to be a great day. It can be night, it can be day, it can be any season at all, but the weather's got to be good. The scenery has to be pretty decent. Today was a perfect fall day. The leaves were full of color and the temperature was just right.
2. I've got to be able to go at a nice speed without too much stopping. Traffic totally ruins a good drive.
3. I like to be alone. I get self-conscious driving in front of other people, probably because I don't drive very often and feel rusty at it. And when you're alone, you have time to be introspective. And you can sing as loud as you like. Which brings me to my last requirement.
4. Good music. The radio can be alright for awhile, but it usually get repetitive, and searching the dial for something decent starts to become a real chore. I recommend having a go to CD or playlist for good drives. Once you realize a drive is going to be an excellent one, starting up your go-to playlist just brings everything to another level. Currently, mine is a mix CD entitled "Ghetto Muzak" that a friend made for me way back in 2005. At the time, I was in a major phase of believing that if music was popular and accessible to ordinary people it was inherently bad, and hardly gave this mix a listen. Only recently have I realized its worth and brilliance. I'll edit in the song list later so you can better understand what I'm talking about. At this point, it is wildly scratched and skipping, but I can't let go of it.
Music, fall, and high speed driving. Brilliant.
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