transport

I used to believe…

When I was a kid, I traveled form Raleigh to Charlotte, NC quite often. As long as trips seem to kids, I thought that the ride took forever ( a mere 3 hours). But one night we left for Raleigh at about 9:00pm, being that late, I immediatly fell to sleep, and when I woke up after what seemed to me to be no more than about 30 minuits totat travel time, we had arrived in Raleigh. I was then convenced that we lived allot closer to raleigh than my folks had been letting on all this time, and because I was asleep, they decided to take the short cut privy only to adults. It took several years to convence myself that the two towns were accually farther apart that i had imagined. I thought that it was all an adult plot to keep kids from trying to wander over to the next town to go to their Grandma's house!

I used to believe…

We used to travel a lot when I was a child, and whenever I saw tire tread on the road (from a blown tire on an 18-wheeler) I thought they had just "shed" the tire like a snake and magically had a new tire under it.

I used to believe…

My older brother told me he once saw a man summon a helicopter to land and pick him up by pointing his index finger and waving his outstretched arm over his head in a circular motion. Needless to say every time I saw a helicopter I did the same thing, hoping it would land in the front yard, the playground, a parking lot, and take me away on a great adventure.

I used to believe…

when i was to start kindergarten my bigger brothers told me not to look out the back of the bus or they would kick me out school. i believed them up untill i was in 4th grade.

I used to believe…

when I was younger I thought that the "do not pass" traffic signs meant that we
shouldn't be driving by that spot. I was so confused as to why they would
put a sign like that on a road, and why they didn't just close down the road.
I never asked my mother, though, because I was afraid to point out that everyday
she blatently broke the law.

I used to believe…

When I was three; I firmly believed that elves lived inside the red lights, and that they had some sort of messaging system that told them to hold up a red/green/yellow ball up to the hold. It was a greatly amusing thing to think about at the age of three.

I used to believe…

My brother (who, I might add, convinced me
of many strange things) told me that when a
plane flew over our house, if you looked up
and saw lights flashing, it meant the plane
was opening its hatch to drop a bomb on you. For the longest time my mom couldn't understand why I would cry and run into the house if a plane came near.

I used to believe…

My Dad told me that toilets on planes were on the wings. I spent my first flight ( aged five) worrying that If i went for a pee I would fall off and be lost forever.

I used to believe…

when I was about 4 or so, i asked my dad how the traffic lights (the red, yellow, green) could know when to change so all lanes of traffic could get a turn. he told me that midgets sat inside them and talked to each other with walkie-talkies. i believed that until i asked my first grade teacher about 2 years later how the midgets get up into the lights in the first place

I used to believe…

the blue 'gas-food-lodging' highway signs used to have a picture of a man taking suitcases out of a car to represent lodging. but i used to believe the sign read 'loading,' and that you could get gas, eat, and have pre-packed suitcases loaded into your car.

since my family never took advantage of this service, i wondered how the man knew what people needed for their trip. i'm no longer confused, as the 'loader' has been replaced by a picture of a 'lodger' in bed...

I used to believe…

My dad worked in alaska and had to go to the airport and board a plane in order to get to work. Every time he came home late at night, I would wake up and go to greet him. I was about 2, and I thought the plane dropped him off in our driveway.
My parents confirmed my thought... But this was obviously because they couldn't understand my question.

I used to believe…

When I was about 13 or so...yes pathetic I know...my dad told me that the "No Outlet" signs meant that those poor people didn't have electricity and of couse I believed him for a couple months actually.

I grew up in the 70's when cars were very large. They were so large, that I could lay down in the floorboard of the back seat and sleep. Doing this, you could feel every rocking of the car over bumps, etc. I used to think that the roads turned into water and the cars turned into boats. This was, of course, hidden from me because I was a kid.

I used to believe…

When I was young, my family moved alot due to my father's work. We racked up alot of miles on the Interstates along the East Coast. We'd move from north to south and back again...it took forever, it seemed neverending. I was afraid that eventually we'd never be able to stop, just keep going and going, up and down hills, the sun always following us. Even though as I grew up, I knew that this was silly, I still, to this day, have nightmares about it.

I used to believe that one day the freeway across from my house would fill up with water if it rained to hard, and some of the cars would float on top, and some of them would ride on the bottom with their lights on (naturally, the people inside would breathe from the air conditioner vents.)

I used to believe it was against the law to drink anything while in the car because you were not supposed to drink and drive.