It’s raining so hard the water kicked up by my tires makes a slapping sound...

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It’s raining so hard the water kicked up by my tires makes a slapping sound as it hits my chassis, like waves against the hull of a boat.

I’m only doing 60, but it feels like I’m roaring down the Banfield as I deadhead back into town after a nice trip—three professional bull riders out to the Wood Village Wal-Mart at 11 pm. The driving conditions are miserable, but I’ve got Anderegg cranked on the speakers, and the combination of the beautifully delicate music, the lulling rhythm of the windshield wipers and the barely audible whir of the defroster has me feeling completely safe.

I’ve reached a point where I know my Crown Vic as a beetle knows its carapace. I am the car, and the car is me. We move as one, as gracefully and reflexively as a large cat returning to its den.

And it occurs to me that it’s curious and maybe even a little troubling that my mind never gets all Zen and shit unless I’m thinking about work. Thoughts of “becoming one with the cab” probably aren’t indicative of a healthy and fulfilling life.

But fuck, when it comes down to it, I just love to drive. To get in this ugly-ass old muscle car with horrible gas mileage and back-breaking seats, get out on the empty nighttime streets, and just drive for hours on end.

The MDT beeps, I snag an order in outer Northeast, and I can’t help but smile.

03.19.2008 at 06:15 Reply

jeff taylor

All fucking right, NC3.

03.21.2008 at 06:48 Reply

327

amen, there is no past or future behind that wheel. all that matters is now, for sure.

03.22.2008 at 03:14 Reply

S. Baumann

I had my first chargeable accident in over 6 years of this a while back. Now that wonderful zen-like feeling you so eloquently describe is mixed with this awful, creeping dread of making even the tiniest mistake. It's a strange cocktail, that's for sure.

03.22.2008 at 05:52 Reply

Night Cabbie 3

God damn did I hate that feeling. I haven't written about accidents yet. The chargeable one I had was incredibly banal and minor, but I had another one where it was the other guy's fault that was completely hilarious. It's a fall or winter story, though.

But sorry man, I remember that feeling very well, and it's really no fun at all.

03.22.2008 at 11:48 Reply

And what's absolutely hilarious is that less than an hour after writing the above comment, I got into a chargeable accident. I guess that misery loves company.