Article March 3, 2008 ISSUE

THERE IS AN ANSWER

BY JULI BAUER

A number of years ago when I was living in New York City, an acquaintance offered to take me out for a drive in his car. Living in an urban area, and having to rely routinely on public transportation, his offer was pretty appealing. But when I saw how old and unreliable the car looked, I had serious misgivings. However, he reassured me that everything would be fine, and I put my concerns behind me as we drove off.

Once we pulled onto the expressway, I began to enjoy seeing the sights beyond the city. It was so fun to be in a car again. And then, all of a sudden, the car sputtered, and the engine died in a confluence of 16 lanes where two expressways melded into one. All this was made worse by the fact that a professional baseball game had just ended, and hundreds of cars were streaming onto the roadway. People began to honk and make rude gestures as they tried to get around us.