7.10.2007

On Driving (Days 62 hrough 64)

My friend Diane and her boyfriend John came to New York for a food show with the promise of a place to crash while here. While we had fun when we could (I've been working a lot lately), their means of transportation to this fair city of mine was Diane's car.

What I have to say on driving in this city is this: If you have any inkling that you are a bad driver, a driver who gets stressed out easily, or someone who in general doens't like crowds, loud noises, surprises or really, just other people - do not drive in this city.

I love Diane and John dearly, and wold not consider either of them a bad driver, even if Diane has some of her own reservations about it. However, the two times the three of us were ina car together we got lost - once in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the other time ending up in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Awkward laughter, road rage, and finally crying were all responses to the stress of driving in and around the city. it's not even that the city itself is that hard to drive in - the streets in manhattan are basicallya grid - it's that the driving here is so agressive that with so many two-ton death machines on the road, if you're not sure of where you're going, or wha you're doing, you'll get lost, or possibly even run over in teh shuffle.

The subway is cheaper than the tolls, gas, parking and pills you need to help de-stress, and to be honest, if you're coming for a visit to New York form any other major city, Southwest and jetBlue probably offer some kind of cheap airfare, with Amtrak or *shudder* Greyhound being acceptable options as well.

Knowing Diane will eventually read this, I hope she doesn't feel that I think odd of her for her, or resent her in any way for getting caught up in teh stress of motorized transportation her ein the city. To be honest, I'm looking forward to the next time her and her navigator come visit because after all was said and done, I'm pretty sure they decided flying was a better option.

If you're planning a visit to New York anytime soon, I suggest you do the same.