Dead Man's Curve

   The daily commute has its regular reminders of mortality. Places where, in the last sixteen years or so that I've been doing this trek, horrific crashes have ended in death. Now that there is a nice glazing of ice on the roads, the messages seem more tangible, due to the slipping and sliding of the over-zealous traveler. (In fact, fatalities tend to go down a bit in winter- speeds are slower, and there is a tendency to slide when hitting another vehicle.)

   There is a particularly dangerous curve on the way home, I've seen many vehicles spun out (one even flipped) there- even when conditions are fair. On a two-lane blacktop road, you don't have many options when something big crosses the center line at 60 mph. It is a matter of time. That's why I take that route. To save a few minutes each day. If there is an equation for time saved/deaths on that stretch, I don't want to know it. Hop in, turn that key and take a chance! You're on a roll. You bet your life.