Michael: Following the Lines

Around the ankles 

The small black bees buzz above 

Their tiny burrows.

Thursday, June 11, 2020 

This is going to sound like one of those stories that’s trying to force itself into being a parable, but it’s just the facts, mam. 

Late Sunday afternoon as I was driving to pick up our weekly Chipotle order, I was behind a person who was lane drifting and almost hit me. Naturally, I thought it was some dufus texting. It wasn’t.

It was an old dude wearing very dark glasses and from a safe distance behind it seems that he was having a very difficult time seeing the faded white guidelines. On that section of Topanga, just as it comes out of the canyon and flattens out heading into Canoga Park, the lines are pretty faded. 

 But what I was wondering is why the guy just didn’t lift his head up and follow the car in front of him or get a better perspective by looking ahead, instead of futilly trying to pick up the lines he could no longer see? 

But it struck me that I’ll probably react the same way as my vision fades with age. No doubt for decades his vision was fine and was a reliable method for driving safely. But as it slowly, almost imperceptibly weakened, he stubbornly persists in his old ways instead of acknowledging a need to change if he wishes to continue driving safely.  

And I can see this line of thinking applying to many other areas of life, but I’m not going to push it. I just hope someone who cares about him will talk to him about his driving so he’ll either stop or use some other cues to keep him on track.