I’ve done more traveling these past few weeks than I have in recent years. Which means that in a fit of self-preservation, I finally broke down and bought a phone with Google maps on it. Now my phone talks to me and tells me where to go. When I’m driving through St. Louis on a rainy evening during rush hour traffic, I can only thank God that someone can tell me where I’m going. After learning that Gabriel is the patron saint of telecommunications, I quickly christened my feminine phone voice Gabriella. Not Gabby. I reeealy don’t want to tick off my only hope of finding the I-70 West.
One thing I noticed about freeway driving is that it takes a little while to get up to speed. At first, it feels weird to put the pedal to the medal and join the stream of cars racing between parallel lines. But that changes amazingly fast. Before I know it, I’m maneuvering around trucks and wondering why traffic is imitating an exhausted sloth.
I discovered the same time-warp reality careening from rural routine to city hyperactivity. The pace in the city unnerved me at first. But by the time I dropped my bags in my bedroom back home, I felt like I just got off a speeding Ferris wheel. Everything felt so still.
My usual day involves a hundred and one duties and decisions. So when I acted as election judge earlier this month—and barely any voters showed up—I felt like an exasperated beaver with not a stick of wood in sight. The clock’s hands crawled like a caterpillar in molasses. I had nothing to work on. Nothing to maneuver around. Nothing to whip up or pin down.
Now I’m wondering about my life. Years race past me. Decades mount up behind me. Time doesn’t really change…but I do. My perceptions range from events happening in the blink of an eye, to moments that last eons. The big question is not how fast or slow I’m going…but where I’m going. Who or what is directing me? The speed of traffic? The hustle and bustle of dynamic, daily decisions? Fear of being left behind or getting lost? The race to get to the top…of something?
Right now the sun has set on another day. The week is almost spent, and rain patters from grey skies, while spring buds dangle on the edge of tree branches. Twilight feels like the slow lane, but that’s a blessing. Tomorrow I’ll maneuver into the fast lane and zip around a myriad of duties.
When I get confused and lose my way, I’ll call on my own saint Gabriel and a host of supernatural telecommunication experts and ask them to help me find the highway I need.
The branches are nodding in a gentle breeze, and my eyes are getting tired. Sometimes, the best part of traveling on life’s highway is getting off the road and letting the world move on by.
Novels by A. K. Frailey
Science Fiction
Last of Her Kind http://amzn.to/2y1HJvg
Newearth: Justine Awakens http://amzn.to/2pq0vWN
Historical Fiction
Melchior—Vengeance Is Mine http://amzn.to/2taeW2r
Historical Fiction & Science Fiction Blend
OldEarth ARAM Encounter https://amzn.to/2KLhlsN
OldEarth Ishtar Encounter https://amzn.to/2OAkDQF
OldEarth Neb Encounter (In production)
OldEarth Georgios Encounter (In production)
Children’s Book
The Adventures of Tally-Ho http://amzn.to/2sLfcI5
Inspirational Non-Fiction
The Road Goes Ever On—A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings http://amzn.to/2lWBd00
