I feel in my deepest soul that no one on the face of the planet encounters more red lights than I do in my weekly travels. This includes my daily commute from Bradenton to Sarasota, to lunch dates during the work week, and anywhere when I am running a little late.
It’s true. The traffic engineers in Sarasota have plotted against me. If I hit one red light, I hit them all. And I always, always hit one red light, thus triggering a chain reaction of additional red lights that will add on 15 minutes (at least) to a trip that should take only 5 minutes. (Sarasota is notorious for producing traffic patterns that make short distances seem like out of town.)
I’m finding a way to trick the system though. When I leave for work each day, I’m armed with a to-do list, an editing job, or a couple of spare magazine articles I've been trying to read. When I come prepared, the little man up there in the traffic lights spares me the drama of red. You should try it.
But don’t forget to put down the reading materials when the light turns green. One Gropius reader may recall her game of roadside bumper boats caused by her attempt to complete a crossword puzzle while driving. Was it the seafoam green car or the pukey muave sedan that was wrecked? I can't recall, but it was tragic. Almost as tragic as the time her car caught on fire on the way back to college. As she called me from I-4 beside the burning wreckage, she said "This is the most beautiful fire I have ever seen."
In summary, bringing reading materials can trick the Sarasota Red Light Demons. Keeping things in perspective, a long light is always better than a burning car. And finally, friends who find their own car fires beautiful are priceless.
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