I took this picture at about 7:20 this morning at the entrance to my development. Even if you can't tell from the photo, let me assure you that the visibility was crap. And believe it or not, aside from a few clear patches, the visibility was this bad or worse for my entire drive in to work.It was panic-inducing bad. Like driving through cotton candy... or cotton balls... or pea soup... or cotton balls dipped in pea soup.
It reminded me of a news story my mom once told me about a bridge that was destroyed by a boat in heavy fog (a Google search leads me to believe it might have been the Sunshine Skyway?) and cars kept driving right off the road into the water because they couldn't see that the road in front of them had disappeared. All my life, I wondered how a person could be so stupid as to not know the road was gone.
At one point this morning, when the fog was at its thickest, I was convinced the road in front of me was going to disappear. Now I understand.
On the bright side, driving slowly and concentrating on the white line painted on the side of the road made me notice all of the frost on the grass. I wish I could've stopped to take a picture of some feathery marsh grass that was thick white and sparkly. It was pretty awesome.
And speaking of taking pictures, I'm going to try to take and post a photo a day in 2011. Whether terrible camera phone pictures (dear Blackberry, yours is the worst camera phone I've ever had. love, Jamie) or planned outings with the camera, I think it'll be a fun and easy way to document the year.
3 comments:
Omygawd, you have to get out of my head! I don't have a lot of phobias (and I'm strangely unafraid of things that most people fear) but roaches and bridges over water freak me out in a major way. Roaches are obvious but the bridges...I was 12 or 13 when the Sunshine Skyway collapsed. The news coverage and the photos of the aftermath were just horrific. (I don't think the media could get away with showing photos like that on TV today.) Anyway, it had a huge impact on me and considering that we crossed that very bridge at least a couple of times a year...well. It was after that that Mom took to doping me up before we left for the Summer trek to the beach. I'd take a pill in the driveway and wake up at the beach house. I'm better about it now if I get to do the driving across the bridge, otherwise all bets are off!
On another note, have you ever read the Stephen King short story "The Mist"? That's what I generally think about during pea soup types of driving situations. It takes my mind of off potential holes in the road.
Glad that you made it to work safely!
I love the idea of taking a photo every day for the year! I can't wait to see what you post and I might even give that a shot myself!
the accident that left me with the Harry Potter scar on my forehead happened in fog. I've barely tolerated it ever since. Never read "The Mist" - I'll have to see if Scott has it.
as for bridges, they don't really bother me. unless it's really windy. then I'm terrified!
Ah, I didn't realize the bus accident happened during a fog. You have SO MUCH more reason than me to be freaked out by it! I find wind mildly concerning but trust that The Powers That Be will shut the bridge down if that's a real problem.
I'm certain that Scott has 'The Mist' at hand in some short story collection. Read and enjoy!
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