Rain Trip
Drove to Houston yesterday. Hit a patch of hard rain. It reminded me of the days in Houston when I drove to work in the hard rain. Those were the days when it paid to have lived here a long time and be familiar with the old roads. Those were the ones built high with ditches on the side. They were built above the floods. Somewhere along the way Houston roads became drainage ditches. Cheaper to flood a car than a house, I guess.
Anyway, freeway driving in a hard rain is an exercise in concentration and avoiding traffic. The latter usually features three things: cowboys in pickups and jeeps doing 80, small car folks with blinkers on doing ten, and trucks and cars of all types throwing up gallons of misty water. The latter usually results in zero visibility no matter how hard the rainfall is, but in a hard rain visibility goes to subzero. I managed them all.
But being an old guy, I finally pulled over in La Grange to stop and check the radar. It was my walk around spot anyhow. So, it worked out. I stretched my aching legs, and the radar showed the road would be clear just up ahead. Sure enough it was sunshine all the way to Houston. I made it in time to unload my car and pick up the kids from their after school activities. They were happy to see me, and I was happy to be there. And now they’re donning costumes and getting ready for school. And I have coffee.