Retirement Benefit Number Twelve

I did not have to drive home last evening.

I was told by a neighbor that the traffic on Route 6 was backed up ten miles or more. What a relief!

I can remember the early morning discussions on the last day of a holiday weekend or any summer Sunday for that matter in years past: if the weather is going to be nice, we should leave early; if the weather is terrible, we can stay until later. Sometimes, when nothing else could be done we would travel along what was called “the service road” for the old Otis Air Force base which parallels Route 6 from Exit 6 to Exit 2. Even this out of the way route would sometimes be backed up! We might also venture down Route 6A to Sandwich and be backed up there.

Now, I don’t give traffic a thought unless I’m flying out of Logan or going to the doctor’s office in Boston. Sundays and Monday holidays are serene. Have another drink, sit back in the cushions on the chaise longue, enjoy the sunset and the last of the sailboats coming home.

The next morning is even better if the weather is swell, like today. No traffic, no lines, nothing to keep an old fella from biking to the beach or taking a little boat ride down a still river.

I’m already home.