I enjoy driving. Not always, though, because I live in a large metropolitan area and sitting in traffic around here is at the bottom of my list of things to do. However, when traffic is moving, I find the mass of vehicles on the road to be interesting, almost beautiful.

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of gripes about driving besides traffic. I wish it were more like Germany here in the States. Germans are passionate about driving and it is a privilege, not a right. They pay a pretty penny to get their license and I know gasoline costs more there. Here, well, you just need to identify some letters and pass some menial tests. It really doesn't take much, especially once you get your license. I think most drivers need to pass a basic etiquette course at minimum in addition to everything else. And turn off your dang phones while you're driving.

Anyway, when everything is working correctly, it is amazing. You have all these people travelling around in a huge, molded piece of metal where they can reach high rates of speed just by moving their foot on a pedal. These autos work together, merging, braking, changing lanes, exiting. Hundreds of tons of metal are able to move about, usually without any mishap.

Although humans mess a lot of things up, it is incredible what we can do. A car is a thing of beauty that becomes very ugly when we misuse it. Unfortunately, we've become very good at misusing things and cars, albeit a cool thing to me most of the time, is also a source of anxiety for a lot of people. I hate thinking that my wife is out driving and I know she should have been home by now.

Ferrick