Features
Scary drivers make for good stories
EDMOND — Michele Schlough is a member of Edmond’s Challenged Pens writing group. Last winter she and her husband Charles boarded their RV and followed other Snowbirds to a Texas RV park. “Keep in touch,” we told her, and she did.
If you’ve never ridden with an iffy driver at the wheel, don’t bother. Michele can tell you what it’s like:
“Hello, all. Here is another installment in my account of the wonderful time we’re having here in the Rio Grande Valley. I’m sure you’ve heard of the trouble they’re having here between the protestors and the police. Several people died at the border close to where we are staying, but I went to Mexico today with a 72-year-old woman. It was the scariest day of my life.
“I foolishly decided to brave the trip into Mexico with a lady I met here who had a dental appointment there. What scared me most was the lady I was riding with. She wasn’t paying attention.
“First she missed the exit by miles, and on the way back to the right exit, she came so close to running into the back of big, black truck with bright red brake lights flashing, that I yelled ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ at the top of my lungs. Tires were squealing and smoke was rising as the truck jumped out of our way. I guess the driver saw us coming in the rear view mirror.
“‘Oh. I didn’t see it,’ she said as I caught my breath and pried my fingers from the seat.
“Carrying on, we were cruising down the road when I saw a yellow light that had been on for several seconds. ‘That’s going to turn,’ I said.
“As we sailed under the red light, I glanced left and saw another trucker hit his brakes as he was entering the intersection. ‘Huh,’ she said. ‘Was that a red light?’ After that, I told her when cars in front of us were slowing down or their brake lights were coming on.
“We finally got to the bridge at the border, and was I ever happy to see Mexico, the alternative still vivid in my mind. She went to the dentist while I shopped, then we shopped some more and had lunch at a restaurant with white tablecloths and fancy-dressed waiters. I had filet mignon for $7.95, which I nearly lost later.
“After lunch, we went to a pharmacy where she asked for eye drops. The pharmacist asked if she had dry eyes or allergies. ‘Neither,’ she said, ‘I have macular degeneration and blurred vision.’
“At that point I all but got down on my knees and asked God to get us back safely to the RV park 45 minutes away.
“On the way home, I had to brace my head against the headrest while watching for brake lights ahead because she alternately pumped the gas pedal and lifted up on it, over and over. I was so close to being seasick that I would have asked her to pull over if I hadn’t been afraid to interrupt her concentration. We were no more than a quarter of a car length behind the car in front of us, and we were going 70 miles per hour. All I could do was pray. Talk about the scariest day of my life!
“I’m back safe and sound in the RV camp now, and believe me I will never complain about Chuck’s driving again. It will be good to see you again when I return. Real good!
“In case I never get another chance to say it, ‘Love to all, Michele.’”
MARJORIE ANDERSON is an Edmond resident.
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