- I take a limo to the city which is very convenient and outrageously expensive, unaffordable if the company isnt paying for it,
- Take a train - There are 2 flavors to the train Either I drive myself to the station, pray that I will find a spot to park and be able to sprint up and down the stairs in time so that I do not have to wait for an hour on a freezing cold windswept platform, OR I pay Luis a handsome sum of money to drive me over. The latter also requires planning ahead. Once I get into Grand Central I have to catch a subway to get me to Wall Street. 3 hours door to door each way.
- Drive myself - 90 minutes to get from the garage attached to my house to a garage in mid-town Manhattan.
I've made atleast 20 trips to New York City this past year, and it wasn't until the end of January, that I decided that enough was enough. It was time to conquer my timidity and fear of driving into the city and give myself a little more time and flexibility.
The 90 minute ride means I hop on to the Taconic Parkway and then onto the Sawmill River Parkway and onto the Henry Hudson Highway. Parkways in the Hudson Valley region (my area) refer to highways that have been cut through forests. These are typically narrow, winding roads open to non-commercial passenger traffic only - no trucks allowed yeah!!
Someone once told me that the Taconic Parkway was built along the old horse-buggy path that went from New York to Albany. I have not found any evidence to corroborate this theory, though it is definitely a plausible theory. Forests, State Parks and farms line either side of the Taconic -and spectacular pastoral scenes with deep blue mountains as you come into Dutchess County. There is a particular bend in the road where I am always swept away by the beauty of the scene - even 20 years after I first laid eyes on it.
But I digress. There is a reason why I avoided driving into the city. For this beautiful scenic road that takes me into the city is also a major challenge. Even under normal circumstances, I am a timid driver. I have this absolute fear of brushing against or scratching my car on something.. be it a bush on the side of the road, a gaurdrail, a rock, another car or a deer. That doesn't mean these things have not happened - I've even rubbed the car against the side of the garage door and I once almost had my car wrecked by a deer who decided to cross the road at the wrong time. Neither experience has decreased my fear of these things.
Before, when I was content to drive in the right lane following any old slow poke on the road, it wasn't a huge problem. Just meant that I had to watch out when you were going over a bridge or narrow part of the road if someone was trying to pass (overtake) you. I would usually encourage them to pass me where the road was wider by slowing down.
But then I lived in Delhi for 3 years, and learnt to become impatient. And decided that I too should stake my claim on the road. And so now everytime there is a slow poke ahead of me, I prefer to pass them. Legally and in the left lane.
Atleast half the slow pokes decide that they must speed up when I try to pass them. Its almost as if I've woken them from their trance or re-acquainted them with their competitive spirit. And so we'll go side by side - or me just a notch behind them until I can psyche myself into passing them. Sometimes, I find I have to give up and hang back into my position a few feet behind the slow poke until I see a nice wide path opening up and then I swing into the left lane with a heavy foot on the gas and zip past them. This happened to me 3 times this afternoon on my way over.
And I kept telling myself I was a big chicken. And then I remembered... If I was a real chicken I'd be on the train with my feet up reading a book or taking a nap. No I am just a "used to be chicken" aspiring to something else.
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