THAT BORING DRIVE TO WORK

I have been working on this post for several months now. Don't get your hopes up, though, now that I've finally put fingers to keyboard, it's not a literary masterpiece; no deep insights into the human condition or anything like that. It was just a germ of an idea that struggled to sprout. When it slowly started to take shape it seemed a little short for a post on my blog...more of a FaceBook post, really. Then, just this morning, there was toast...and peanut butter.

I was munching on a piece of toast (and peanut butter) while standing in the kitchen staring out the window when it hit me. 13. The elusive post revolves around the number 13. The number 13 and how it keeps popping up in relation to my drive to work.

I don't have a long commute to work but, even so, I get bored. As I am fairly law abiding I don't eat while driving nor do I use my cell phone or, worse still, my e-reader. This leaves me with the radio and my own thoughts...which leads to mental games...which ultimately leads to "The Traffic Light Game" (patent pending)

Pause: James Gang "Funk#49" on the stereo...be right back...or join me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_qHU_6Ofc0
All better now.

On the route I normally take to work there is a total of 13 traffic lights. I wondered what the chances were of eventually getting a green light at every one of them on a single trip. Technically this should be possible. With the exception of two lights, none are timed to traffic flow and should allow a perfect score under perfect circumstances. On the other hand, also due to those same two lights' the worst case scenario would be stopping at 12 of the 13 lights. So I started counting...every day.

I have been doing this for months now and, try as I might, I cannot hit that perfect score. My best effort to date is 11 out of 13 green lights. Even this was marginal as one light was kind of a yellowish-red and at another, a few blocks later, I had to slow down to a creep; sneaking up to the intersection, waiting for the green, without actually coming to a full stop. I take my wins where I can get them. Worst score, 9 reds out of 13 lights. On the bright side the game goes on. Not sure what I will do to keep myself amused if I do hit that perfect 13. Maybe keep my eyes on the road instead.

Oh yeah, the other 13's. The shortest route to work by distance, which is not my normal route due to twice as many traffic lights and a major C-Train crossing, is 13 kilometers. The fastest route to work based on time, which I do not take due to a lack of coffee places (and I must have my coffee) is usually 13 minutes. But the big one, the one that ties all of this together in a nice remarkable package is...nah...that was it. Sorry.

Ta Ta for now.