The Long and Winding Road

The Orlando odyssey broke badly with a heated discussion between daughter Caroline and her mother about how many of her friends would be permitted to journey on to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl (Caroline won, of course, but not before much pain was inflicted on everyone). On to The Big Easy for the ex and half of my chillin, back to the Boro for the Twins and me.

The traffic was not too very good. Orlando to Walterboro is usually about a five and a half hour trip. This one ran about eight and a half. Savannah, Georgia, and the Savannah River border South Carolina. Walterboro is (usually) about an hour North of the border, so reaching Savannah is like the last lap in a long race. About thirty miles South of Savannah, traffic came to a dead halt on I-95 in both directions.

Thousands of tired travelers coming back from Florida after a Christmas break. How would they react? Shaken fists and car horns blaring? Physical violence? Dr. Seuss wrote the ending to this one. You know that scene in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" where all the Whos in Whoville start singing even though the Grinch stole all their stuff? That one. Instead of getting angry, everyone had a big party. The twins faked car-surfing. We shared some of our pumpkin pie with the family behind us, and they shared their oranges. People threw footballs and basketballs and walked their dogs. One dude even skate-boarded on the shoulder. Duuuude!

The delay lasted about an hour and a half, but I did not witness a single unpleasant outburst during that time. It was actually a lot of fun, and I was almost disappointed when the traffic was cleared and we were able to get on our way. Communing with the occupants of the cars- people that I generally saw only as obstacles to a speedy arrival at my destination- was... enlightening. The next time someone cuts me off in traffic, maybe I'll smile before I flip him off.