Simone

If I pass my driver’s test this Friday, it means the state of New Jersey deems me at least a satisfactory driver. It means I get my license.

If I get my license this Friday, it means that I can start asking my parents for the car.

If my parents let me have the car, it means they deem me at least a satisfactory driver, and that they trust me to return home with myself, and in the car, intact.

If I return home with myself, and in the car intact, I will trust myself to drive my friends around.

If I drive my friends around, and they willingly get into my car, it means they trust me with their own intactness. And their lives.

If people trust you with their own intactness, and their lives, you are a good driver.

If I can somehow be a good driver, I will consider myself a master of the road.

If I become a master of the road, then my options are limitless. No destination within the continental United States, or North America, and Central America, will be out of my reach. I can pick up ice cream or McDonald’s or sushi or Q-Tips whenever I want them. I can go to the beach in any season. I can drive West to the open country and hike, or steal a baby calf, or just stop on the side of the road and stare. I will have the means to properly dispose of a body. I will drive alongside grandmas, and soccer moms, and business people, and student drivers. And I will be their equal. I will have the authority to operate a two-ton vehicle. I will be free.

But of course, this all depends the quality of my parallel parking skills. ♦