Driving is fun

I have friends - and some are even family - who find it relaxing to get behind their automobile steering wheel and drive. Others find no such pleasure. On a five hour trip which I undertake frequently, there are many diversions that make for quick and happy passage of time. When traffic is light and I can observe the landscape as I drive by, I look at the barns and fields and reflect on the peaceful lives they represent. Well, perhaps. From my perspective farm life is peaceful.
I learned from college roomnates that is not always the case. In the women's college my acquaintences could not wait to marry and get off the farm. And back in 1946 there were more woman who came from farms than there are in the present time. I did not understand their determination to move elsewhere. I still wonder if I would believe it if I lived a farm life now.
My childhood on isolated farms was tranquil and I only remember security and pleasure. I had parents who made it so and siblings who added interest when time permitted. There was fur trapping, sleigh rides, ice skating, and sliding down hill in winter (Think ice cold below zero for five months). Spring required digging trenches to guide melting ice away from driveways and buildings. Come to think of it, the mud gathered on boots was a pain; it added pounds of weight to each foot.
Summer brought winds that were such fun. As the poem goes, "Who has seen the wind" didn't faze me. I did not have to see it to know could blow me down. And across the fields fragrant with scents of grasses and flowers it was pleasant even when it was so strong I could walk against it only with greatest effort. The storm clouds would send us for bathing suits so we could run in the warm rain - the best shower I had until indoor piping became a reality.
But back to enjoying the act of driving. When traffic gets heavy, passing cars exude noise that indicates how their drivers amuse themselves. I can understand listening to news or talk shows and maybe I would if I had a good radio and a quieter car and better hearing. Until then I am content to imagine happy folks, especially kids, going about their lives on those widely spaced acres we still call farms.
Think about it. Creating strife makes for great page turners in novels and those are needed for successful best sellers. But I save those for creative writing. For safe and pleasant driving I cling to a serene polyanna attitude and leave the gothic farm scenes to painters.
Naomi Sherer