Rules of the Road. . .

I've had a few laughs over the last several months, which is good considering I've had lots of tears too!! Yesterday I was driving home after we had taken Kevin back to work. I was behind a school bus and could see no fewer than seven heads poking out of the windows! It was a beautiful afternoon and the kids were enjoying the fresh breeze. Memories came flooding back from my childhood. We lived ten miles from town and had to ride the bus to school. I'm pretty sure every driver had been through some sort of nazi-driver school. We couldn't poke our heads, hands, noses, or any other object out the window. In fact, we couldn't even touch the windows! If the day was chilly and the windows were fogged over, we didn't dare attempt to draw stick figures or happy faces or letters because the driver had a seat assignment and he or she would know who had made the mess. The threat was that the culprit would have to go to the "bus barn" after school and clean the windows of every bus in the district! I remember thinking, "What a meanie!" Yesterday I smiled at the kids and laughed about how laid back people here about everything! Nobody was in danger and the breeze probably made the kids a little happier about just being kids! I was tempted to hang my head out the window in rebellion to all my past bus drivers. I didn't. Maybe today. . .

This morning I was in the kitchen and happened to glance out the window as the mailman drove by. Yes, he drove by. . . on his motorcycle! I realized that we don't get mail every day. In fact, we mostly just get bills, which only come around the 15th-20th of each month. Because we don't have a JC Penney in the entire country, we don't get junk mail for their ONE DAY ONLY!! sale, nor do we receive any other junk mail. It's nice. This morning I realized that the mailman probably has an easier job here because he only has to stop at certain homes. Riding a motorcycle makes sense and I'm pretty sure it's a little more fun than walking to every house on the block!

Back to the school bus. . . After grinning at the kids who were hanging out the windows, I passed the school bus. Yep, I passed it, on the city streets. The rules are a little different here. Laws?? I'm not really sure if they have any laws! At least here in Horizontina, it's OK to pass a slow car on any street as long as it's not dangerous, and even then, it's probably OK. Stop signs are just a suggestion. However, there are a few places where you are supposed to stop and you pretty much have to learn those locations by driving with someone who has previously been told that you're just supposed to stop there! There's not a single stoplight in this town, but there are a few hundred round-a-bouts! Whoever gets to the round-a-bout first has right-of-way. It's kind of comical when a truck is about to enter the round-a-bout and the driver of a teeny tiny car is determined to get there first. I mean, who wants to get behind a big, slow truck?? So I laugh and enjoy the few seconds of entertainment. Then, after I realize I'm the one behind the big, slow truck, I grin again. . . and I pass him!

It's very normal to see kids jumping around in the back seat of a car! Seatbelts? I'm not sure if they exist!! The other day I was standing outside. A car drove by. The driver was holding the baby (no, it wasn't Brittany Spears), the passenger was holding a dog, and a small child, maybe 4 or 5 years old, was jumping from side to side in the back seat. After they passed our house, the kid stuck his head out the window and stared at me for the rest of the block. I stared right back, appalled at what I had just witnessed! Sadly though, I'm getting used to it. Emma still sits in her carseat, buckled in, almost all the time. I'd be lying if I told you I have never take advantage of the leniency here. When we lived in the hotel and had driven to D'Forno, the pizza place, I let Emma sit on my lap when we returned. It was about a three-block drive. I felt awful. Apparently I didn't feel awful enough though, because we did it again one night when it was raining. No, rain isn't a good excuse, but rather than be poured on, I just jumped into the passenger seat and held her. OK, confession time is over:)

We took our first vacation last week and Kevin was behind the wheel every time we drove somewhere. I can't say I was jealous in the least bit! The drivers here are insane. It seems like everyone (except the guys driving the big, slow trucks) is in a hurry to get somewhere. There are a few places on the highways where the police monitor speed, but it's rare. I can't remember the last time I looked at my speedometer. I figure it's more dangerous to look at it and then try to calculate my speed in miles per hour than it is to just drive at what feels like a reasonable speed. Anyway, I had to remove my nails from the dashboard a few times last week! We passed a few big, slow trucks and returned to our lane split seconds before we were introduced to the grill of an oncoming vehicle! I prayed a lot on that trip. I thanked God a lot on that trip!

Ah, back to the motorcycles. It's very common to see little kids riding on the front of a motorcycle with their parent. Some wear helmets, some don't. Nobody seems worried. It's just a normal scene here. A lot of people drive mopeds or motorcycles (not Harleys, though) and a ton of people ride bikes. More than that though, hundreds of people walk! The work day at John Deere ends at 5:18 p.m. It's a mass exodus and worth witnessing. Hundreds of workers walk through the security gate and toward their respective homes, while another few hundred jump on their bikes or motorcycles and head to the daycare or school to pick up their children. Still more speed away in their cars, passing each other in the rush to see who can get home first. It's amazing really. Emma and I have walked to John Deere a few times, just to witness the exodus. It's like swimming upstream with an incredibly strong current. Emma and I are heading north and the massive amounts of people are heading south, begging us to join the current. It's a little entertaining to say the least.