Driving

Driving · 27. July 2015
Driving is one of the most stressful things many of us do. Or to put it in a better way, for many of us, driving is a big stressor. What’s the difference? Stress is something we experience, a physiological reaction in the body: the adrenal glands put out cortisol and adrenaline, the heart speeds up, the breath comes faster. You might have an uncomfortable, “pressured” feeling. (This is the bad kind of stress, distress – I’m not talking about the good kind, eustress; the physical...

Driving · 01. May 2015
I’m sitting at the Little Bakery, waiting for Marlena to meet me for lunch, and my cell phone rings. “Hi, it’s me.” Marlena. “Hey.” “I’m here on the Beltway, not going anywhere at the moment,” she says. “So, I’m going to be late.” “No problem – I’ve got something to read.” “I’m really sorry about this,” sounding stressed. “Don’t worry about it,” I say, “Just be safe and get here when you get here.”

Driving · 01. September 2014
Idiot!” Dave screams, leaning forward almost against the steering wheel as the driver who just cut in front of us waves an unwelcome, and probably unfelt, “thank you”. Dave is driving me home from tennis. He clobbered me today – how can such a large man move so fast? “C’mon,” he says loudly, a couple minutes later, gesturing with his hand palm up. “The light’s green and they’re just sitting there.” Where we are, ten or so cars back, the line has not yet begun to move....