Living in Blythewood, everywhere I go takes 30 minutes.  I try to make driving interesting so I will stay alert.  That is a good thing. I loved listening to ETV’s “Radio Reader” on my car radio back in the 80s.  That got me into Books on Tape and an occasional bit of trouble.

I was stopped and heavily fined for breezing through a school zone while listening to a very dramatic part of a book.  

Once, while on my way to a Circle meeting in LongCreek and listening to a book on tape, I kinda forgot where I was going, missed my turn, and ended up in Elgin.  That was before GPS, and I thought I would never find my way back to Circle meeting.

Another way to make driving interesting is to watch for abandoned things on the side of the road. I hate to admit it, but I like to pick up some of these treasures.  I can find small tables, chairs, toys, small logs just right for my wood burning stove and lots of chests of drawers.

I usually have someone in mind when I quickly put something in my car.  But it is not my best look! When I pick up things no one else wants, I take them to a consignment or thrift store.  And sometimes back to the side of the road for someone else. I recently picked up a bamboo frame for a small table.  It only needs a little tightening up and a glass top. Anyone interested?

One bad experience has made me more selective. A good-sized bag was dropped in the middle of Fulmer Road. Thinking it was a traffic hazard and just might be interesting, I stopped and threw it in the back seat of my car.  In just a few minutes, I realized I’d rescued a bag of dirty diapers. I was halfway to town before I found a trash can.

Occasionally I must have looked pitiful, because strangers have stopped and helped me get something heavy or large into my car.  Maybe I’m the first bag lady with a car. 

One hint: The better the neighborhood the better the find!

Also, while driving, I keep my eyes open for tossed pieces of metal to take to Thomas Humphries who is a well-known recycling sculptor.  Numerous times I have stopped to pick up large pieces of what looked like metal that has blown off or been knocked off a passing car.  Plastic! Disappointed in the find and in the car manufacturer. Thomas grew up in Blythewood, so check him out online.  Or better, take him a piece of metal! 

I don’t want to scare you, but another way I stay alert while driving is to identify the birds I see along the way and the types of trees along the roadway.

Staying alert on long drives is the goal, as I know how quickly a little sleepy nod can land you in a ditch.  I once woke up just in time to find myself driving into and out of a ditch without a pause.

Being wide awake at that point, I just drove on home. That is when I found I could turn right but not left – dented fender.  I got home but I couldn’t turn left into my driveway.

One thing has changed about my driving habits. I have just about stopped picking up strangers.  The last person I stopped for on a hot day was a young man on a long, mostly unpopulated road carrying food and drinks on a take-out tray.

 I was so puzzled  as to where he had gotten the food and how long he had been carrying it, I just had to stop.  He said he was right at the house where he was heading. 

I will never know the story!

Jeanette Smith, 95, a Blythewood resident, has been active in the community’s civic affairs for over 50 years.