Wednesday, August 29, 2007

just to pass the time

I was on my way from Pennsylvania to Arizona for a job, but was delayed because I was reading. I'd picked up a book that I'd been wanting to read for a while. And one morning, after waking up in my car and showering at a truck stop (state parks are cheaper if you can find one with showers - but you gotta supply your own soap and towel), I ordered breakfast and really got into the book. I did not want to stop reading, but realized that it was getting close to noon and I was still at the same truck stop where I'd spent the night.

I had to get back on the road, but I couldn't stop reading. So - I decided to read while I was driving. Dangerous? Yes. But driving is mostly subconscious and nothing much ever happens on the highway. I know people who watch movies while driving, and I've done so myself. I figure reading is less dangerous because when something is happening on the road that requires the driver's attention, the flow of the book stops. A movie keeps going, battling the road for the driver's attention.

I keep the book at the top of the steering wheel, gripped between the thumb and index finger of each hand while the other 3 fingers of each hand grip the wheel. I can now focus on the book with the road filling my peripheral vision. Painted lines are almost a necessity and when they are non-existent or obscured, I must forgo reading until there are lines again or there is something I trust my subconscious to use in tracking the lane. Cars and other obstacles ahead are readily identified in the peripheral vision by the subconscious.

I read the rest of the way to Phoenix. It's quite an experience. I did, once, fail to notice some orange barrels and clipped one with my mirror, cracking a bit of it off. No big deal, I've hit barrels with mirrors when I had nothing visually distracting to blame for it.

Reading really helps pass the time on a boring drive. I read much slower than I would if I didn't have the distraction of driving, but comprehension and retention seem to be higher - perhaps as a result of the slowed pace. I'll have to do more research to explore this.

I read from somewhere in Missouri to Phoenix, worked for a week, and read from Phoenix to Green River, WY. So far, all my reading-while-driving was on fairly monotonous four lane highways. I got used to reading while passing big trucks, but would have to put the book down for heavy traffic, construction, and other annoyances. The more practice I got, the better I got at reading through these annoyances. After Green River, I left the interstate to take two lane highways through Wyoming to Greybull. This would be a new challenge for my reading-while-driving skill. I've finished the first book and am now picking up another which I am not sure will hold my attention well enough to put up with the hassle of reading while driving.

But, the book turns out to be very good. And the two lane highways of Wyoming are no match for my reading-while-driving skills. This may not work so well in other states where the roads are not so straight and boring. Occasionally I have to put the book on hold where the road gets a bit more curvy through some mountain passes or traffic slows through a little town.

Through one town, I do not have to put the book down at all because there are no stop lights and the car ahead of me, through my peripheral vision, serves as a guide to my driving subconsciousness. Also, I manage to pass a car on the two lane highway with no more than a few quick glances up from the page. Although I am distracted enough that I have to re-read a sentence and may as well have focused on the car I was passing instead of the book.

By now, I am able to concentrate mostly on the book without swerving even when the road makes a gentle to moderate curve. However, I still prefer the safety of rumble strips to alert me if I do start to wander out of my lane.

The more I practice, the more my subconscious is able to handle without drawing my conscious focus away from the book.

I may have to install a reading light directly above my head because the angle of the dome light requires that I hold the book awkwardly to allow for total illumination of the page, making reading after dark a bit of a pain.

I keep track of the distance to my next turn and keep an eye on my odometer so that I know when I'm getting close and can put the book down to watch for the turn. I have not made a wrong turn so far. I must also remember to keep an eye on the fuel level. Though my car is equipped with a low fuel warning light, it makes no audible indication of low fuel. The fuel gauge and warning light and, in fact, all the gauges are obscured by the book while reading. I frequently lift the book to check the gauges.

This exercise has shown a practical benefit. In the past, I have found it awkward to read a map while driving and would often swerve while trying to rapidly locate something on the map without breaking my focus from the road for long. And if the atlas is turned to the wrong page, it's hopeless. Now I can study the map in detail or find the right page while driving without swerving.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

random prose

And that's just what she wanted. To sink deep down into darkness.