The Driving Part 4: The Long Dark Highway

We pulled into a closed gas station. Up to this point in my life my traveling has been limited to a grand total of five different cities most of them within a two hour distance. I've never been to a massive city or out of the country. So, I was in for numerous surprises on this trip. My first was that gas stations close. I apparently in a travel hub, a spot where cars and semis stop to refill before they get the hell outta’ Dodge, so in essence they don’t close. Imagine my shock that there was no place to stop at two in the morning .

I learned how to drive in an Astro van. In fact, if I really had to, I could parallel park it in under a half an hour. I know the Astro van pretty well so I know what features come standard. Cassette tape, Ac, slow acceleration, and the world’s most uncomfortable driver’s chair. Somehwhere, deep within the Chevy R&D department I can just imagine some technician cackling to himself as he designs the new chair.

*A Dramatic Reenactment*

“Yes! Yes! Excellent! There’s no way someone under 5’5” could see over the steering wheel without a large book as a booster! Brillant! After ten hours of use the cushion deteriorates so badly that the solid steel rods we’ve used as the frame begins to actually physically cut the driver. Not just the circulation in his legs but his flesh! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA”