Striking up a conversation with a man I met, on the train or somewhere else, and because the thought still weighed heavily on my mind, where I was picking up any information I could about the appointed days we just left behind. “What’s with the roads here?” I asked.
The reason the States drive on the Right and the UK on the Left is that the French drive on the Right, and as a result of Napolean conquering much of Europe in the not so distant past, we chose the Left. Yep, that explained it. The Salesperson at the Enterprise in Invernes without saying a thing, alluded to the same idea. It is what it is. I still got full coverage and full everything, except for the option to email me every single offer they can think of in about five years. I signed it and left a hefty deposit on the card.
The young woman went out the Sales Room door with me to examine the car. I had the just signed paperwork in my hand. She had a small series of cards attached to a chain around her neck. One card had concentric circles for me to especially make note of, of what they consider body damage. “I’ll be careful, I’ve driven on the Left side of the road many times before,” I said to myself, I lied to myself, and that’s where it stayed as I immediately told her, this was my first time ever doing this kinda thing (and it was).And really, could I possibly muck it up further. She assured me, then she went on and opened the Driver’s door, it’s really dawning on me now, like just before the hammer comes down. So I think, I’m gonna be extra careful. There on the floorboard were the three pedals I was afraid might be there. I’m certain she saw me flinch, for she was quick to reassured me they each served the same function and in the same familiar position as on American cars. And before I knew it, she is gone and Tina and I are inside the car about to enter a roadway with moving cars. We performed like a single unit and before I know it, her Smartphone is barking out instructions, Tina serves as Backup, I’m just Driving! Listening and Driving. The night before I needed to get out and I walked a bit to see the Neighborhood. Crown Circus is a little Community in Inverness, it has stop lights, a restuarant, a couple of Community Artists Shops, where a bubbling culture is on the rise. At least it would be here in the States.
The Smartphone navigated us through the Crown Circus Neighborhood I had walked the night before. I hit the curb on the left one time, but not too hard. And shortly, we were back at the AirBnB. Queena and Sarah were finishing up their getting up in the morning routine. We were getting ready for the big trip, or for me, a test drive with practice. This afternoon we planned driving down to Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. “Careful,” I tell myself, “I got this.”
Driving on the Left side of the road is not so difficult, you just have to get use to the constant reminders and distractions saying nothing is right. Every knee jerk reaction that keeps you out of harm’s way on the highway has to be consciously mirrored. You shortly get the hang of it without really getting the hang of it. Your comfort zone in driving is shattered; for example, driving from the left side of the car I tend to lean subtlely into the left door for support. In Scotland I discovered that particular security blanket was gone.
Somewhere, along the road between Invernes and Loch Ness, from the backseat, Queena said, “Papa, you’re driving on the Left side of the Road.”
