The Drive Home

On my drive yesterday an occurrence happened which seems to not be an isolated incident in my life. Much like the drive home from Shawano last year I followed a car for many miles. Last year it was a Chevy Cobalt, yesterday it was a blue Ford Focus.

I started following this car in Tennessee and since this car was moving at a decent speed I decided to follow. My logic when driving is that the lead car will be the one to get the ticket should there an officer around so I will always follow. An hour or so passed and I stayed the same safe distance behind. From the way the Focus rides I did not know what the age of the driver was so I did not feel that connection until a certain exit.

We were nearing an exit that had a lot of gas stations and the driver in the Focus raised his hand for me to pass. This was something I have never seen on the interstate before, but I followed the driver's instructions. I drove up along side and looked over at an old man driving and an old lady in the passenger seat. The driver tipped his cap he was wearing and with a waive of goodbye he exited the interstate.

This knocked the wind out of me. Who was this person? It is a question that will never be answered and yet I yearn to know. I never talked to this man, never stood in his presence, and all that I was was a speck in his rear view mirror and yet he felt it right to waive goodbye.

When it comes to connections with others I am often puzzled as to what this means. And yet, when it comes to something like this, I feel as if there is a deep, gaping wound in my life.

About an hour later I stopped for gas and some food and got back on the interstate. Down the road aways after my stop there was a  construction zone with the ominous signs of, "Construction Zone Speed Limit Photo Enforced: Minimum fine $375". I take these signs very seriously and will not do .1mph above the speed limit. I feel like a hazard on the road because I am doing sometimes 25mph slower than other cars, but I am sure that sign doesn't lie.

Anyway, there was one car that blew by me and that was this blue Ford Focus. I knew it was the same one because of the custom license plate that it had so after the yellow flag zone, ahem, construction zone I sped up to get behind the car.

I once again felt an air of safety following this car, but there came a point when I had to make the pass when his speed decreased. I passed expecting another waive of hello, but this time there wasn't; I was just another random car on the cold roads of the interstate. This was quite saddening.

This is such a weird thing to go through. I can sit next to a person on a plane and experience no connection even on a 12 hour flight, and yet driving behind creates a since of loss when that car, or I, exits the road.

With all the driving I have coming up this could quite possibly happen again. If it does I am going to go on overdrive to try and figure out what causes this. Is it the car, the person, or the experience that I feel the loss of? Hopefully I can give you an answer in the future. As for now, I am two days away from starting my Autism Awareness Tour across Missouri.