I Hate to Drive!
I love to drive. Really; it's a pleasure to work the controls of the car, to feel the dynamics of accelerations, braking, cornering, to hear the motor working. I like maneuvering in traffic, being the "adult" in traffic situations, being a safe driver.
But as I've recently had quite a bit of time behind the wheel, I can see that most people do not like to drive. On the evidence of their behavior, they hate driving. People buy cars that can adhere to the road in corners under high lateral forces, then slow to a virtual stop before turning a corner. Why? What are they afraid of? Surely they are not afraid of the possibility of a collision as a result of turning the corner? If that were the case, you'd think they might actually LOOK WHERE THEY'RE GOING first. And, of course, they exhibit no fear at all of being hit from behind by all those cars bearing down on them from the straight-away they were previously on before they stopped in their lane to make a simple turn.
This is especially true if the turn requires going over a curb cut ... heaven forbid that their car's suspension should have to accomodate a bump at over .5 miles per hour! they might actually feel a sense of motion through the car's steering or suspension! Oh, no!
Turn, people! Move that wheel, cover the brake, let the car do what it was designed to do!
Similarly, people seem to have no compunctions about pulling out of a parking lot or side street into on-coming traffic without accelerating to match the speed of the traffic on that street or highway! What the heck! Why spend any money on the larger engine or the turbo when other peoples' cars have perfectly good brakes and tires. One might hope!
And when merging onto the freeway, for God's sake, don't accelerate! Just let those speeding semis and school buses full of children plow into your trunk. That'll acclerate you plenty!
On the other hand, if you're on the freeway, and you can see a busy merging on-ramp coming up ahead, don't bother to change lanes to the left to make it easier and safer for people trying to get on the highway! Let them worry about you. And if there's a bloody, metal-tearing, head-smashing, flaming-tanker-truck accident because you're too lazy to change lanes, hey, it's not your fault!
Accelerate! Turn! Brake!! Move that car like it was intended to be moved ... around obstacles, over bumps, past fixed objects. Learn to like the feel of movement and the responsiveness of your car. It'll make you a better driver, and a happier one, too.
News From Tualatin
News From Tualatin
T
his is the longest we've been in Oregon at a stretch
four months!
and it is drawing to a close. We're heading back to Colorado Springs on July 1st. We apparently have a buyer for Karen's mom's house, but we still have to sell her car and a few odds and ends of hers to finalize the disposal of her estate. It's really tough to try to do all that kind of stuff at long distance, but we wouldn't have missed the opportunity to be here to see Theo make his appearance. All of this makes me miss Marie
and my own mom, too. They both would love seeing these little Kunze boys. 
We've been very busy, it seems. Besides going to many of Portland's Rose Festival events such to see the "tall ships" and later, the visiting U.S. and Canadian Navy and Coast Guard ships tied up dockside downtown, Karen and I went out to see the night-time "Starlight Parade," and we went to the traditionally drippy Rose Parade with the Kunzes.We have taken Ben for a "slumber party" at our house a couple of times so his folks could have a little time to spend with each other (prior to Theo's arrival) and to get used to having a new family member. When Morgan was in the hospital to deliver Theo, we spent three days at their house being Ben's "au pair" pair (Aaron "roomed in" with Morgan at the hospital.) Most recently, we had Ben stay with us here, and then took him down to McMinnville the next day, a trip of maybe 30 miles each way, to see the great airplane and spaceship museum there. Ben's a great traveler and really soaks in all the sites.
Yesterday, we all piled into Mum & Pum's car (all except poor Aaron, who had to work, alas) and drove out to the coast for a visit to the ocean. I can report to those of you inland that the ocean is still there, still quite large, and still quite chilly. It was a record low tide, though, and the water seemed to be retreating quite far, so I'm making no guarantee about it being there today!
Both Theo and Ben are real easy to be around. And if that ever stops being the case, we can just go back to our condo! No kidding, though, both boys are easy travelers, and (so far) get along just great. Morgan and Aaron are doing a terrific job
Morgan is always game for whatever silly business we dream up for an outing, whether it's just a trip to the park at the end of our block or an all-day outing such as yesterday's.
Aaron and I had some fun together this trip. He showed me a new computer game, and as Theo was impending, we worked together to put on and finish new baseboards in Ben's new room (he moved out of the nursery a month or so prior to Theo's birthday.) The previous owners of their house had refinished that room, but had not gotten around to doing the baseboards. It was fun and a learning experience for both of us, I think. (Baseboards
they typically angle up across the wall like that, don't they?)
As we're starting to do all the little things that have to be done to shift residences again
mail forwarding, stopping/starting newspapers, etc.
I start to get that melancholy "Sunday Night" feeling I used to get when I was in school, and to a degree when I was working. I know our hearts have made Oregon our home, now, and our trips to Colorado feel more like visits. It may be that the Kunzes will come to see us in Colorado Springs this summer, so we can show off the boys to all the relatives there and take in the sights at least one more time, so that will help; but now I feel a little homesick when we're in Colorado, and even though we haven't even left yet, we're already longing to come back.
