The Weather Reigns

So I Don't Hold the Reins

In the rains.

Love homophones.

Anyhow, it rained yesterday, so I did not ride. I did go for the first of my weekly swims and swam for about an hour. I figured I'd get some riding in today.

But. The phone rang and I was called to substitute teach. I had a chiropractor appointment set for the afternoon and had to change that to early evening.

I went for another swim after school and then...*sigh*...tried to drive home.

Earlier in the day a dump truck had overturned on the NJ Turnpike. The driver was killed and the truck caught on fire, damaging the overpass where the crash happened. It was a terrible tragedy and a horror. I can only pray for the driver's family and friends.

But the consequences of the accident extend far beyond that loss. Unfortunately, it impacted thousands of New Jersey drivers on another emotional level--utter frustration.

The New Jersey Turnpike closed down for perhaps 40 miles or so for both safety issues and the accident investigation.

For those of you who do not understand the magnitude of this, it's hard to even imagine what a traffic crisis this caused. The Turnpike on the the major North/South roads in New Jersey, and it carries thousands upon thousands of cars and trucks in and out of the New York metropolitan area every day. The volume of traffic is incredible.

Secondary roads, such as US Highway 1, Route 18, Route 130 and even the Garden State Parkway also carry heavy traffic loads of their own. But today, all the traffic from the Turnpike was diverted onto these roads, nearly turning them into parking lots. It was nearly impossible to get anywhere in the area.

When I finally left school after my swim, it took me over and hour to get to my chiropractor--what normally would be about a 15 minute drive. I had intended to go home first to feed the horses, but gave up that idea when I considered that it was going to take at least another half hour to get to my house from the main highway.

I think the news stations were dubbing it "Carmageddon."  I could see why. Some people were stuck for hours trying to get somewhere. I just read that now, at 8:30 PM the roadway has been reopened for about an hour after being shut down since around 10 AM.  Incredible.

I'm chiropracted, acupunctured, and safe here at home. I'm one of the lucky ones. All I suffered on the highway was aggravation.