I Prefer Our Traffic Jams

Five summers ago, we traveled to New York City to celebrate a few milestones in our family. It was yet a few months before the pandemic would shut down Broadway and its peripheral economy, turning the Big Apple into a ghost town. We saw a number of shows and were energized (and at times overwhelmed) by how alive and pulsing the city was around the clock.

The traffic was like nothing we had ever witnessed. Taxis and Ubers and Lyfts navigated the haphazard stream with a sense of mission and determination. Wherever their passengers were going, they were going to get there (in one piece, hopefully, but that wasn’t necessarily the top priority). Tractor-trailer rigs wove amongst the throngs, blocking traffic when necessary to deliver their loads, all the while daring drivers and pedestrians to get in their way.

It was loud. Chaotic, even. And everyone seemed to accept it as the way of things.

Michele and I found ourselves in some similar traffic situations this week as we navigated Lookout Mountain. First, there was the family of deer we had to stop for as we made our way to the Mentone Market. A buck, doe, and fawn scampered across the road, then stood in the edge of the woods looking back to get a better view of the intruders who caused them to hurry their pace. The next day, we had to slow for a red fox who clearly had no concern for traffic laws. He did not have the right-of-way as he crossed our path, but he caused us to stop in the road (also illegal, if I recall my driver’s ed handbook) as he stood in plain sight showing off his bold color and curious eyes just inside the woodline.

Was that a chipmunk? Yep, I think so. Again, let’s stop for a better look.

Of course, there were more deer. Three fawns had to pause their playtime, as curious about us as we were enamored by them. Passing through the same area later, we saw four of them, all being led by a doe who must have been tapped as the room mother for the day and was clearly tired of these kids’ shenanigans.

No bear sightings this week, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.

We love theatre, and our 2019 visit to Broadway was a highlight for our family. But we wouldn’t trade Lookout Mountain’s slow country backroads and encounters with nature for all the playbills in Manhattan.