The Sad Bear: Over the mountain

September 18, 2008

Over the mountain

I coasted nearly three miles tonight, down the mountain.

I thought ahead to the trips I'll make over that mountain, and how on the other side everyone will say, "just over the mountain," when I tell them where I live.

I wondered why I've always mistakenly thought that the time it takes to travel a given highway will eventually decrease after enough repeat trips.

I thought of the Shenandoah Valley.

Labels: driving, landscape, mountains, thinking, Virginia

3 Comments:

goat said...: Goddamnit this seems loaded.

I wish that the number of times some road were traveled would impact whether repeat travels seemed shorter (were you talking about seeming in some other sense?).

I wish that an important story would differ in its significance from situation to situation, without a particular situation weighing in on what it was recording to begin with. This seems impossible.

After that.. how would you reconcile historical reports with interpretations of a current situation?

Maybe no way. But then again I've been "energized" lately. (I wish cultural conservatism would just bite the dust, and then let the rest of us discuss important issues that have to do with the future).; September 18, 2008 at 2:07 AM
Chase said...: I thought ahead to the trips I'll make over that mountain, and how on the other side everyone will say, "just over the mountain," when I tell them where I live.

People have always said this about where I live in Kentucky. Members of the community closet to my house always refer to themselves as being, "just over the big hills." I really like that...because you can look and see what they're talking about as they say it.

I wondered why I've always mistakenly thought that the time it takes to travel a given highway will eventually decrease after enough repeat trips.

Funny. I still think this way. Every time I drive to Chicago or home, I always estimate my time of arrival 30 minutes less than the previous time I drove to those spots.; September 18, 2008 at 6:05 PM
Tony said...: I felt the repeat trip drag with Rt. 12 in Michigan and it's starting with Rt. 250 in Virginia.

Maybe it's specific: repeat 30-minute trips. Something about those half-hour drives...; September 18, 2008 at 11:43 PM