Mr. Alighieri did not live in modern times. However, if Dante had, he would have had a special circle reserved in the Inferno for drivers of semis who run permit-carrying teenagers who are driving with their mothers off the road.
Jacob has about twenty hours of driving practice. At twenty hours, I deign to drive with the children. Before that, they drive with Calvin. It’s mutual—I won’t drive with them and they won’t drive with me.
Today was the first time I’d let Jacob drive with me to his music lessons. I was a bit nervous. We’d have to drive down a few narrow, twisting roads that made my knuckles white when I drove them with Luke. But this was my third child who was learning to drive. I knew to take deep breaths, speak gently, and give the directions early.
But before we hit the narrow roads, we had to take the interstate for a few miles. Jacob was in the midst of merging onto Interstate 24 when the driver of a massive semi decided he didn’t want anyone getting on the highway ahead of him. So he sped up. I raised my voice. (Jacob says I was screaming—he’s melodramatic. I was resonant.)
We weren’t the only vehicle he ran off the road. The car behind us was also run off the highway. Thankfully, we both got on the highway on another on-ramp. Luke was also run off Interstate 75 by a semi when he was learning to drive. Yep, I think we could definitely add another circle to the Inferno.
You poor things. Semis are pretty evil. I even saw one the other day that somebody had decorated with fangs and scary eyes. No kidding.
ReplyDeleteThat particular Semi sounds like it escaped from The Lightning Thief.
ReplyDeleteThrow 'em in with the sowers of discord, who get to be dismembered!
ReplyDeleteYou'd think that driving for a living would make semi drivers a little more "golden-rule"-ish about how they treat others on the road.
Ack! I'm glad everyone was OK. I remember learning to drive and having to so so defensively. It's a tough world out on that road and I never forget it when I'm behind the wheel.
ReplyDelete