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He thought of a way to check. He grabbed the T-shirt that he was about to put on for the day and held it over his face before carefully picking up his phone, turning it over, and then peeking an eye around the edge…. Voilà! – the phone stayed locked!
Goines slapped his forehead – he had forgotten setting his phone up for facial recognition! He had had to turn his face from side to side, and up and down, to let the phone study his features. But Goines had not expected his phone to recognize him so “instantaneously.” After cottoning on, he also noticed that his phone wouldn’t unlock when he was masked against viruses; he had either to enter his 6-digit code or take the mask off.
Scenarios like that seemed to be cascading. Just the day before, Goines had been driving Mrs. Goines and himself on the interstate in their Volvo S60 when a vehicle towing a long, wide trailer in the lane to their right signaled to go left and began nudging into their lane. Goines quickly touched the Volvo’s brake pedal to slow a bit but was startled at the realization he had maintained insufficient distance for a merge. He glanced quickly at the rearview mirror and to his left before steering leftward, only to discover another car right there. He jerked the Volvo back to the right, immediately throwing it into a side-to-side rocking.
“Shit!” he said aloud, but the Volvo quickly settled down, as much to his relief as the fact that Mrs. Goines was keeping quiet.
In the meantime, the vehicle towing the trailer was keeping to its lane, and Goines was breathing deeply, but continuing to ponder why Mrs. Goines hadn’t gotten after him about the rocking. Had she felt comforted by her husband’s apparent calm in quickly controlling the Volvo, or had the incident so horrified her that she was suppressing it from awareness?
Goines himself felt some comfort at how he had managed the situation (even that half-second of near-terror), but he was troubled by his failure to maintain his usual safer distance behind the car ahead or to see the presumed alert in the reliable Volvo’s left rearview mirror. He reminded himself he would have to tighten his grip.
But then, on the drive home, he had once again started to go prematurely into the left lane only to discover a car! Goines, Goines, Goines! he shouted silently at himself. Tighten your grip!
Once home, Goines felt more grateful, more thankful to…to Something than he had felt in a very long time. He and Mrs. Goines could have died that day, could have been seriously injured. But they had not died and they had not been injured. And maybe, just maybe, Goines could better his grip.
| Copyright © 2022 by Moristotle |
From Lisa Adamson via email:
ReplyDeleteThis is why I now have a car with safety features that prevent me from getting too close to another car (automatic braking while in cruise control or flashing “BRAKE” on the dash) and will alert me if there are cars on either side of me when I signal to change lanes. You still seem to have great reflexes, Morris!
Lisa, thanks! And I see I used the last name I knew you by when we were colleagues at UNC General Administration – old times die hard.
DeleteGoines (and I, too, I confess) also have a car with blind-spot indicator, adaptive cruise control, and pilot assist. His problem (and mine) seems to be sometimes wanting (or needing) the car to do everything for him (so he can think of something else, or just daydream?). He (and I) do seem to need to tighten our unfortunate but actual loosening grip!
Like many here I have been driving since (illegally) the sixties and (legally) the seventies when there was much less traffic on the road and certainly not the huge AWDS SUVS etc or the massive trucks and trailers (I grew up in the UK)
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I had to worry about was the correct gear change, the manually roll down window and, if really “posh”, the pop up sun roof and if really really posh - a radio or cassette player! My brother even installed an 8 player!!
There were no other distractions to take your concentration off the road and your fellow motorists. Fast forward to today and no gear stick to keep your concentration so you don’t stall the car at lights, no manual windows just a touch of a button, blue tooth music and (probably the biggest concentration disrupter) the phone!
The traffic is now, literally, bumper to bumper, where ever you are and the vehicles are all HUGE! I too now have aN AWD, automatic of course with all the bells and whistles mentioned. Most I don’t really need as I drive thinking two cars ahead and two cars behind, as I was taught by my father, however I am eternally grateful of the blind spot gizmo as that has saved me from having something come into me and my Lane on numerous occasions.
I just wish that people NEVER used their phones whilst driving to talk to people and more dangerously to text! The USA is so far behind other countries on laying down the law for this and it’s costing many lives especially the young.
My father drove until he was 65 where upon he announced “he was done” His reasoning was that now (1964] that there were cars every 20mins of driving he felt it was too crowded on the roads!!: I wonder what my figure will be to tell me enough and give the keys in!!,
Excellent analysis and contrast (between Goines’ time and your father’s). The contrast sure puts things in perspective. Maybe Goines’ difficulties are shared by many or most drivers (I shudder at the thought) and are not just a loss of his particular mental facilities.
DeleteNot sure why it’s signing me in as ANONYMOUS! I’m loud and proud to be Penelope!!
ReplyDeleteI THOUGHT that was you! Maybe Blogspot thought you were anonymous because you hadn’t logged in to your Google account?
DeleteWeirdly I WAS signed in to my Google account!!
DeleteHmm, it didn’t give you a choice how to “sign in”? Another (BIG) change I’m seeing lately is there’s no longer an option to preview, which I really miss.
DeleteAnother friend commented via email:
ReplyDeleteThe automotive adventures you describe are a tad scary, though I’m never certain of how much literary license you grant yourself in the recounting! But one thing seems clear: there are many more aggressive drivers on the road these days than was the case pre-Covid! So one must indeed get a grip!
For the record, I take nearly zero literary license. Or, rather, “literary” is the ONLY license I take – I take zero license with the facts.
By the way, a 90-something colleague from my early IBM days recently suffered a truck’s colliding with the car he was driving and attempting a legal left turn in. The collision totaled his car while somehow managing to break only three of his ribs. He decided to take the tip and give up driving….
Roger Owens here; the blog seems to be anonymousing (is that a word? Adjective to verb?) everyone and won't let me publish under my Google account either. I'm right there with you, Goins! Time was I would be in Palm Beach or Miami bumper-to-bumper at 80+, no problem. I was good at it, I could see the patterns, anticipate what other drivers would do. Example: the guy who tailgates me, zips in front of someone and tailgates the next guy, well, first opening he's gonna take it. The red Mustang ragtop with the blond in the passenger seat in the disappearing lane thinks he's gonna push me over and get in, oblivious to the fact I have nowhere to go but into another car at full speed; i.e. suicide, which is not my style. I'm sure he's had time to reflect on his decision; it cost him a nice red car. Last I heard on the radio was they were fine but the car was a total loss. Pity. Needless to say, those days are gone. I see old guys on big bikes with no helmets (legal in Florida but really stupid) who seem to think their response time hasn't changed since their 20's. I can't tell you how many times I skirted disaster on my bike by quick reactions alone (and a kiss from Lady Luck) but THOSE days are gone too! We must face our decline with equanimity. Marcus Aurelius said "Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what's left, and live it properly." After all, getting old sucks, but it beats the sh*t out of the alternative. We now regularly pull a camper in our retirement, a bit of a challenge as I have scribbled here, and I have to be extremely careful. One false move could mean death, destruction or both. Sure would put a damper on that retirement thingy. Can't have that; worked too hard all these years to not get to be old folks for a while and do what we want. Drive safe my friend; get old as long as you can. And remember, we're not the only crazy people out there on the road.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Roger. I am chagrined and disappointed at Blogger’s apparent abandonment of its relatively Cadillac support for commenting. Now that “preview” seems to be gone, I realize how alone Blogger was all those years in providing it. At least, I hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen that feature elsewhere….
Delete"Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what's left, and live it properly." — “Properly.” Now, THAT’s an interesting word. Did Mr. Aurelius provide any instructions?