On alternate Sunday mornings, as I have written before, I pick up Danica and take her to work by 7 o'clock. Mom can sleep in, and I am always up anyway, so it is a helpful task that I don't mind doing.
As I have also written previously, I set three alarms but have never had to use even one.
I set my watch to go off at 6:00, my phone for 6:05, and Alexa for 6:10.
This Sunday, I awoke at 5:50 from a dream in which I was carrying a feeble and frail old fellow up the hospital stairs. He seemed to be at death's door, and for some reason, the staff wouldn't carry him up those fearsome stairs. When I saw him the next day, he was well enough to greet me as I stood in line at a snack counter. He got up, thanked me, and said that he felt better.
Who knows how some like me, who has trouble weeding his garden, managed to carry someone up a flight of stairs?
I always ramble on with background information, but now I intend to get to what I was going to post – Red Lights Disdained.
Sunday mornings are quiet with almost no traffic in this town. When I turn the first corner on my way to Danica's, I invariably hit a red light. The cross street is a major artery, so the light is a long one. I look carefully, maybe a half kilometre or more up and down the road. There is no vehicle approaching from either direction. I look left and right again. It seems senseless to sit there. I drive through. I look behind in my rearview mirror; the light remains red for quite some time.
I get to the main downtown intersection, scan carefully in both directions, and off I go through my second red light. It's not a terribly long light, so I don't really need to run through it, but I do, regardless.
Onward I go to wait in the driveway for Danica to emerge. I worry that she has slept in, but she never does. Almost like clockwork, she emerges a minute or two before 6:45. It's only 5 minutes to the grocery store where she works, so we always arrive in good time. But first, we have to turn onto the highway. Even the highway is devoid of traffic. It always is on these early Sunday mornings. I go through.
The final light is at a more major intersection and it has never been traffic free, even at that godly hour – godly, for it is Sunday. I never disregard that one and wait patiently like to good, law-abiding bloke that I am – every day except early on Sunday.
I do wonder if a cop were lurking in the weeds whether I would be given a ticket. I imagine so, but I would explain that on such a morning, I treat a red light like a stop sign, look very carefully, and proceed with utmost caution. My likely futile hope is that the officer would nod, pat me on the head, and tell me to stop it because the next cop might not be as understanding and friendly as he or she is.
21 comments:
Aren't you the naughty one with your red lights!
I often wonder what prompts specific dreams; food? what I read or watched just before bed?
It's too bad that there are no sensors that immediately make the lights change for you since the sensors should know there is nothing coming. You are doing a good deed. That cancels out your not waiting for the lights to change.
Around here, many lights, especially those at major intersections, have red light cameras installed so doing that would result in a picture of you with a fine attached mailed to your house many weeks later.
Yowee. Shocked to the core.
Chuckle on that last bit. I am tempted to go through at times but never have the courage to. You are a rebel, AC.
And just to think, you're setting an example for your granddaughter. When she is driving you can bet she'll also be looking at red lights and remember how many times you've gone through after stopping. I do hope she has a driving instructor that explains that red means stop, do not go until it turns green!
Probably a futile explanation to a cop -- they have their quota, after all -- but I don't blame you and confess I may have done the same on occasion. They can time those things -- why don't they turn them into four-way stops during certain hours? I don't get it either!
I very occasionally will run a red light at places I know well, and also that they don't have a lurking cop nearby. Good for you, AC.
@Barbara. That was another rather a feisty comment from you. Did you not see the context of No Traffic? Anyway, I have the light of reason, and I employ it.
I've done this when it's obvious there's no one on the road for miles around. But with cameras on intersections I think I'm more wary.
Here in Hawaii, there are cameras to catch people like you. Expect to see a ticket in the mail.
My mother was one to ignore stop signs and red lights if there was no traffic as well. Better hope they don't sneak some red light camera's on to one of those light standards.
I've done that a few times too as long as I'm sure there's no camera. :) It sounds like a great way to help and to spend a little time with Danica.
Ask the city to change the timing on the light for Sundays. How you could ask without explaining what you've discovered, and crimes committed, would be difficult. Once the city is alerted, they may send a cop to research the light too. Just be careful!
In a small nearby town there is a railroad crossing. I'd seen many people go around the drop gate after the train had passed and the gate hadn't risen yet. This happened to me, but I waited until the gate opened, but it didn't. That's because another train came through from the opposite direction soon after the first train! There are two sets of train tracks at this intersection, but I'd never seen one train go through right after another. Whew! Linda in Kansas
Dreams are so strange! At least I'm not having teaching nightmare dreams as much!
Good luck with those red lights. I think they change shifts around that time, so hopefully they aren't out and about watching for careful seniors!
When I worked in Parry Sound and lived in Bala, I drove 65km to work, and only had a couple of traffic lights. When I taught at Sir Win in Nepean, I drove 2 km to work and had 15 traffic lights!
You're quite a secret rebel aren't ya?
I have some strange dreams at times.
I guess the humor of the situation, as well as the comment, kind of weren't taken in the way I hoped to. A kind of tisk tisk to you AC, without being terrible critical. Sorry. Of course I want you to evade being given a ticket!
I ignored stop signs and red lights all the time, driving home at 2 or 3 in the morning from an out of state show. All that I looked for was a police car. But that was 20 years ago. Now, I don't know.
Hah! I USUALLY like the traffic lights more when there is no traffic….. usually at that time I am not in any sort of a rush. I probably have gone through a traffic light because I was feeling impatient maybe a dozen times over the years….. but usually I worry about a hidden police officer when I do and it spoils the “daring” thrill of it. 🙂
Uh oh!
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