I’m thankful for driving. I often said the best job would be driving places and not having to do anything when I got there. Except for shopping, that’s sort of where I am now.

I love driving. I love going places. Any place. I don’t have wanderlust, at least I don’t think so. I just like driving. I don’t really know why, I just have always loved it.

Maybe it’s about being cozy. Cars are relatively small spaces compared to a gymnasium or a big box store or a house. Maybe it’s about being in control of the space. There’s not much that can be changed about the car while I’m driving, except maybe the temperature, or the radio station, or the volume.

I heard a funny comment the other day by a pastor in Tennessee. He said, “I went to a car dealership and bought a car I’d never seen before. As soon as I drove out of the dealership they were everywhere.” We’ve said that same thing!

I’m really amazed that in my lifetime cars have changed so much. I can remember sitting in the back seat holding onto a rope attached to the back of the front seat. I remember when cars didn’t have seat belts. I remember being able to see the ground in the engine compartment. I remember AM radios. I remember 8 tracks. Now, some cars can drive themselves. That seems nuts. We’re not supposed to be distracted, so they sell us cars that do everything so we can be distracted.

I drove a dump truck for six months. I didn’t care about the job but loved driving the dump truck. I drove a bull dozer and a road-roller as part of that job, those were fun.

When I was a kid I loved driving a tractor. Several years ago I bought a 1946 Ford 9n tractor I used to mow the lawn and plow snow. I really enjoyed it, but taking care of the tractor was a lot of work. We replaced it with a John Deere lawn tractor that plows, mows, and bags leaves and clippings. I love driving it!

I loved driving go-karts when I was young, in fact I still do! What is it about go-karts? In Pigeon Forge, Tennessee there are triple-decker go-kart tracks! It’s crazy but a ton of fun. Why do we pay ten bucks to drive a little kart for five or six minutes, when we drove a car to get to the go-kart track?

One of the best kart-racing experiences I ever had was driving a large kart that had a full body. The body lifted up to allow the driver to climb in. The tires were about 24 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Full throttle the entire time with tires squealing! It was awesome!

I love driving on long trips. We have discovered audio books and have probably listened to twenty-five or more books. I prefer thriller-mystery books like those from Jonathan Kellerman. His Alex Delaware novels are awesome.

Driving is a pleasure I take for granted.