This is one of mine... a timely one since we just got home from taking C and MaDear to Baltimore airport, then we grabbed a couple of crabcake sandwiches and came home with a brief stop at the National Cryptologic Museum next to the NSA, which R has been wanting to do. It was low-budget and old school but surprisingly interesting. Did you know that slaves would embed messages and instructions about the Underground Railroad via quilt designs?

[Update: They have arrived in Punchline State.]

Anyway... on to the five:

Big gentle hugs, soft pillows and heating pads to Will Smama, our resident matriarch and preacher/blogger/procrastinator who was involved in a bit of a fender-bender this week. We're very grateful she's OK, just a little shaken up...

In lieu of flowers, I send this Friday Five out to her. Let's all be careful on those roadways.

1. Driving: an enjoyable way to clear the mind? a means to an end? a chance to be quiet with one's thoughts? a necessary evil? the downfall of our planet and its fossil fuels? Discuss.

I don't enjoy driving. I would just as soon never drive. I like being on the open road occasionally, but with someone else behind the wheel. And truthfully, I'd usually rather just get there. Sign me up for teleportation.

We bought the minivan before we really got hyper-aware of the environmental impact. Now what do we do? Sell it? And buy what? There is also an environmental impact to buying a new car.

2. Do you drive the speed limit? A little faster? Slower? Have you ever gotten a ticket?

I drive the speed limit meticulously, give or take five miles. I've never gotten a ticket, although I was pulled over once for driving while eating a McGriddle, and I've rear-ended people twice. Unlike Will Smama's culprit, I never sped away, and I never did damage to the person, and only minimally to the car.

3. Do you take public transportation? When? What's your opinion of the experience?

I LOVE public transportation and will take it any chance I get. The Writing Revs meet downtown occasionally and I love taking Metro. I will take it to presbytery as well when it meets at Fluffy Church. Of course, it's best when you can get a seat. Easier to read, laptop, whatever.

4. Complete this sentence: _____________ has the worst drivers I've ever experienced.

Ah, every place has its own pathology. R sums it up well:

Houston drivers are fine, but fast. 70, 80 mph is typical, and neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor gloom of night slow these drivers on their appointed rounds.

It is unclear whether Atlanta drivers are incompetent or insane. They will do some dangerously aggressive things when you least expect it.

Drivers in DC are generally OK, but you have a small percentage of Type-A maniacs whose poop doesn't stink. These folks deem it everyone else's lot in life to yield to their aggressively important timetable, or get out of their way.

Boston has an even higher percentage of these folks, so the aggressive driving is universalized, paradoxically creating a well-oiled machine of pushing your way into lanes and the like.

5. According to the Census Bureau, my fair city has the 6th longest average commute in the United States at 29 minutes each way. How does your personal commute rate?

My commute is 15 minutes or so. I also work from home as often as I can. R is all over the place at client sites, but he too can work from home and does whenever it's feasible.

Bonus for the brutally honest: It has been said, and the MythBusters have confirmed, that cell phones can impede driving ability almost as much as drinking. Do you talk on a cell phone while driving?

I used to never talk on the phone with a kid in the car, and I still don't prefer it. Seems like one distraction too many. But, yes. I do [sheepish] although I try to use the speaker phone option.