Part 1: The shortcut
'Who send me work?'
Having
closed much later than usual from work today, I was confronted
by standstill traffic a few miles from the office. As I came to a halt behind the stationary
vehicles, I was just adjacent an alleged shortcut route that I had
never attempted before in the day time, much less when there had a been a rainstorm earlier in
the day, with the attendant likelihood of leaving puddles of water. A strong mental debate ensued. I had only a few moments to
decide my course of action, before the opportunity would be lost, and I would have to deal
with the uncertainty of how long the traffic jam would last.
With
impatient drivers honking behind me and growing agitation to get home
as quickly as possible, I made a choice. I turned off the main road into
the intersecting street. Several other drivers quickly followed my lead.
In the glare of my headlights, a small sedan was navigating what appeared
to be a series of mounds of earth
along the route. The apparent ease with which it did this encouraged me. So I eased my '99 Mercedes w202 onward.
A sign?
As
I approached the first mound, the small sedan was getting out of sight around a bend
in the road. I carefully adjusted my speed to
ensure that the stylish bumpers of my c230 Kompressor would not strike the
ground.
As I reached the summit of the bump, I
could also see that there was also some water in the puddle thus
formed. It was of little consequence, I mused. At the summit of the bump, I adjusted my approach to descend gradually into the water.
For
a brief moment, the car did not move. Then I felt the left rear wheel
losing traction. I applied some more throttle and the car eased forward.
I
wondered how such a seemingly lowly obstacle could dare to inhibit me.
My agitation though, peaked slightly and I felt some discomfort with my
decision. A voice urged me to turn and go back. My Kompressor felt ready though. So I advanced...