two hundred eighty seven

A quote from Jack Welch, a successful business man. 

I'm not as familiar with his quotes as I am Joe Walsh quotes but this fits my story.

Like the rest of the human race I hate change. I have discovered at 70 years of age it seems to become ever more disturbing. 

I'm retired but not as financially secure as I would like. I have enough to pay my bills but disposable money for travel, toys and helping others is important. 

I have a commercial drivers license for driving buses and trucks. Lately I have been driving a daily 300 mile round trip from Bend Oregon to Eugene Oregon.

Bend is 3650 feet above sea level and surrounded by snow capped mountains. Every trip to a major city requires a trip through a snow covered pass.

I took route 58 to Eugene and back. This route is filled with mountain curves and elevation changes. Most of the year this route is actually fun to drive. These large buses can be driven smoothly without jostling a sleeping passenger. 

This requires strategic braking and minimal steering input. Like a race car driver looks for that perfect lap, I try to have a perfect run. No leaning, smooth braking and as few bumps as possible. 

In the winter months the curves can be unpredictable. It can be 40 degrees in Bend and be 15 degrees in the mountains. Each mile requires my full focus because with these changing conditions any moisture can turn to ice at any moment. 

I'm a very cautious and skilled driver so driving in hazardous conditions didn't worry me. The problem is my vision has begun to change. I had a condition in my 50's that damaged my retinas that resulted in years later double vision. 

This was successfully corrected with glasses for many years. In the past six months I have had brief moments that told me I needed a new prescription. I found a specialist and spent a fortune on new glasses but my eyes had reached a point that I can't take a risk driving large vehicles through snow covered mountain passes with a load of passengers. 

My eyes are perfect for an eight hour run but the second and third days I begin to struggle. "Change before you have to." came to mind. If something ever happened because of my bullheaded pride I could never forgive myself.

I love driving big vehicles and enjoy passengers. Some regulars called me "mister smooth" and one lady said I was "efficient" instead of saying I speed. My goal is; don't scare them or make them sick and get them safely to their connections on time.

The bullheaded part of me is still focused on bicycle touring again but driving busses and trucks are now a thing of the past. I love transportation and interacting with people but I think I'll try something local. For now I'm going to hunker down enjoy the holidays and wait out the bad weather.

Change sucks but being made to change is much much much worse. Like I have said in previous posts I'm sober 31 years. I would not have made it 31 days if I was being told or forced however I did find it tolerable to take suggestions, I think it is something connected to my pride.

I can't leave without a Joe Walsh quote......