246

A few months ago I noticed an electronic billboard on I235 here in Des Moines started displaying the number of traffic deaths so far this year in the state of Iowa. I remember taking Fisher to school one day and it read 223. A few hours later when I drove to pick him up the number had changed to 225. As of yesterday it was 246. 246 lives ended on this pavement that spans like some web. Every time I see these numbers it gives me pause--I think about what's behind it--mothers and fathers and grandparents and friends and lovers and kids and siblings. People like you and me on their way to some job or running errands--ordinary things. And I look in the rear view mirror to my kids and think--lucky. And I peer at the other drivers on the road in their boxes of metal and think--be mindful. And I look at my speedometer and slow down. I love to drive, especially in a golden circus-like sun, with music, with the window down. It feels so solitary, yet we are in the hands of a much larger network all the while. Our lives entwined, relying on the moods and wits of others. It's a kind of blind faith. When the sun rises today I will view it with awed gratitude for the 246 who no longer can. And to the rest of you--take care, take care, take care.