Reflective Writing

2014 marks a milestone anniversary since beginning work. I'd made a number of forays into various occupations before the real work began, consuming evenings, weekends and summer holidays around study and learning. These jobs consistently occupied me outdoors. Whether it was gardening (which amongst other tasks, involved sitting on a lawn tractor for hours at a time), fruit picking (which was interminably dull, as a result short-lived and largely fruitless) or delivering papers (which takes me way back when each delivery netted 1.2p) the outdoors was decidedly for me. So naturally, my first real job involved lots of sitting down at a desk, very much indoors whilst being paid to further my education, albeit on a part-time basis.

With the real work, came the real commute. Twenty five years and very nearly ½ million miles later (most of which was driven) have taught me lessons through the power of trial and error:

1. Stupid people drive red cars. Please don't misunderstand me when I say this. Not all red car drivers are stupid and not all stupid people drive red cars, but the correlation is too convincing to be purely circumstantial.

2. Hesitant drivers choose white. See above rationale.

3. Blue is cool.

4. BMWs are made with more care than a good number of their drivers

5. If it appears that a car is about to do something stupid, first check for red, adopt a defensive position and then regardless, assume it will be so. It invariably will be so.

6. In the event you are driving in the inside lane past a lay-by and the parked driver chooses the moment of your passing to pull out, it is possible to swerve into the outside lane without looking and without incident (but is not recommended).

7. Vehicle excise duty will rise as fast as the growth in number of wheel destroying potholes

8. When did 12 months become an acceptable duration for roadworks?

9. The middle lane is no refuge for a slow driver, despite popular convention

As far as today's picture goes, it was something of a last resort.