The road in front of our house.
Life on a dirt road is different. First, you’ll find that there is little traffic along a dirt road. That means that folks look up when a vehicle goes by. Second, traffic moves slower on a dirt road than on its paved cousins. It has been estimated that those of us who live on and travel over dirt roads will spend up to an extra thousand dollars a year on vehicle maintenance. The reason for that is the rough, uneven surface that rattles your car until it develops rattles of its own.
We who live on these secondary roads have learned to identify different driver styles. Among these are:
Speedster — flies down the road. Hits only the high spots.
Sight Seer — enjoys the view. Calculates the potential yield for the crops in the fields. Sees the first leaf of skunk cabbage in the spring.
Lost Soul — appears to be lost. Weaves down the road in an effort to miss as many bumps as possible. Eyes are darting everywhere trying to find a clue. Seems to be thinking, “What am I doing here?”
Farmer — goes about his business quietly and efficiently. May smile, nod or even wave, but all that is optional — unless you’re a friend.
Hired hand — drives the truck or tractor down the road as if he were trying out for NASCAR. Usually not a problem unless he’s hauling manure. In that case you drive down the road like a Lost Soul, trying to drive on the “clean” part of the road.
The usual protocol for driving along a dirt road is to drive down the middle of the road. You keep your vehicle centered. There are no lane markers. When the center portion of the road get all rough and develops holes and chatter bumps, you learn to drive with one wheel on the shoulder. You can frequently find a smoother ride by doing that. (Take care in the early spring when the ground is soft.)
One of the most important protocols involves what you should do when you meet your neighbor on the tractor pulling a full road-width of equipment coming toward you. The correct procedure is to back up and into the first driveway. Wave and smile at your neighbor as he, or she, drives by on the way to the field or back to the barn. Say a prayer for farmers’ safety — it is a dangerous occupation — then proceed on your way.
Perhaps more of us should live our lives that way. Keeping to the middle of the road, but going carefully along the edge to avoid the big pitfalls that sometimes are found in the middle. When another person with a big load comes our way, give them space and a friendly greeting and say a prayer before we continue on our hurried way.
Hi Chuck- I thought your email response would be here as a comment so I deleted it… but yes, those rocks can be deadly… perhaps literally. We had a thrown rock go through both front windows of a car that was parked. Thankfully, no one was in it. Glad the person you mentioned was not hurt badly.
Wow, I loved the way you philosophized this whole dirt road thing. Very interesting little grasshopper. Very interesting.
What is with Jill? She’s always sneezing lately!
Justine 😮 )
Me? I’m the hiker on the road, waving, watching the cows and trees, and hoping that people slow down when they pass me so that their wheels won’t throw rocks.
This is just a marvelous post. I enjoy reading your writing so much.
This is also a lesson I struggle with all of the time.
I am always too quick to jump and voice my opinion. When in reality, I could save a lot of energy and just keep quietly moving on down on the road.
Sorry I have been away but I had technical difficulties all week. today is my first day to be fully back.
Now it’s catch up time.
Blessings,
Jackie:-)
Night drive on a dirt road is really scary when you meet drivers who are drunk.
I remember dirt roads from my college town. Well, not in the town itself, but around it if you wanted to go somewhere to get away. Oh, and on vacation in Kentucky–lots of dirt roads. We have been warned not to take those, as folks down there are sometimes involved in moonshine brewing and don’t take kindly to strangers driving by.
I loved the descriptions–I’m still trying to figure out who I am.
I grew up on a dirt road and the lessons that I learned there were priceless. Thanks for the memories and the reminder’s Chuck 🙂
I started my Chemo today and was really sick this morning but I feel much, much better this afternoon. I’m so thankful to our Father that it was caught early before it spread that there’s no way it’s going to get me down you know?
You take good care my friend and……
Steady On
Reggie Girl
Good advice. Both for driving and living. Funny, too, the way you describe the different drivers. Especially the hired hand. 😉
That’s hilarious….and the funniest part is that it’s all true!
I like that you concluded your bucolic rambling down the road with a moral for living our lives. Well played.
The last paragraph is great. To go from dirt roads to those thoughts is wonderful! I am not a good dirt road driver. The girls and I almost took flight because we were going too fast and hit a big bump. THE DUST! AAAACHOOOOOO!
What a beautiful post and great advice. I also loved the picture. We live miles off of the blacktop on a dirt road and your post about the people traveling these roads was so accurate.
Thanks for sharing.