That’s a great opening line for any story, especially one that is a true account. It is of an event that occurred one early morning on my drive home from work. As a third-shift laborer at a food-manufacturing facility, it was not uncommon for me to be on the road going home at 2 or 3 A.M. in the morning.

It was early Spring and the deep snow of winter was well into melting but patches and mounds still remained. Creeks and ponds are often overflowing this time of year with runoff water, and road closures along some of the low-lying rural areas are common. Local residents live with it and plan their commutes around it.

My route was always via NYS Route 17, which is the elevated intra-state highway (it is now an Interstate highway.) The Almond, NY dam was once again, back-overflowed and some county roads were under a dozen+ feet or so of water and temporarily closed.

Warming Trend

The earth was slightly warmer than the air from the previous day’s temperatures so the fog in the mornings was thick and often one entered heavy fog banks unexpectedly. Driving was a bit treacherous for those prone to speeding and would be especially dangerous if one lacked familiarity with the turns and nuances of the road.

I was going home, happy and content with the previous evening’s work. It was the weekend, -my two days off. I had a big mug of Cappuccino I bought at the all-night gas station on the way home. My guilty pleasure, this.

I had plans later this weekend to drive to the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY, for cinema. Lunch would be a calorie love-fest at Taco-Bell or some other ‘fast food’ franchise, and there would be shopping. It was going to be my day.

My car smelled of the delicious coffee confection and was unusually clean, inside and out. I had spent the previous afternoon prior to work washing and waxing the exterior. I had vacuumed the interior upholstery and carpets, and used vinyl protectant on the dashboard and other vinyl parts and cleaned the glass, inside and out. –The burgundy Grand Am had this whole new-car smell going on! Life seemed good for me. A super-clean car inside and out is like wearing a new suit; the wearer feels better somehow.