The unspoken rules of Trini driving

It feels nice to sit in our lower level and still have feeling in my fingers after an hour or so. Our computer sits in front of an easement window (one of those underground ones) and the cold air used to flow right down from the window onto my right hand as it held the mouse. Brrrr!

What makes this so hard is the fact that it's just been over a week since our return from Trinidad, the blessed Caribbean island we try to visit as often as we can. The weather there in January is absolutely fabulous... lower humidity, less rain, cooler temps (if you call 80s cooler), and lovely greenery everywhere.

But I can't write about Minnesota weather, it just makes me too depressed. So I'll write about driving in Trinidad!

I rented a car in Trinidad for three days, and it was just like riding a bike.... In fact, I drove up to popular Maracas Bay the Monday before we left, which goes through a very busy city, plus winding mountain roads. Brian drove another carload of friends separately. I drove with a couple of American friends (relatives of our Trini friends) -- who were unfamiliar with the Trini style of driving -- and a couple of our Trini friends were with me, too (this is important to know).

To those of you wondering why driving in Trinidad is like riding a bike, they drive on the left side of the road. I had to remember not to swerve into the right lane on two-lane roads. It was actually easy to remember because I'd only ever driven on the left side in Trinidad (with the exception of my first two months living there, when I'd occasionally try to drive on the right, to my - and the other drivers' - everlasting regret) and it became familiar much more quickly this time around.

So one of our American friends got to ride in the front seat -- not a good idea for a Trini-driving newbie. I looked over at one point and she was clutching the shoulder strap of her seatbelt with both hands, scrunched down in her seat as far as she could go, with a look of terror on her face. I wanted to tell her to relax and look out the window and enjoy the scenery, but I didn't think she'd take it too well at the moment.

This was right after "the incident" where she yelled out, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? That truck is going to hit us!!!"

Let me explain one of the unspoken rules of Trini driving... when two vehicles headed toward each other come upon a car parked on the side of a narrow road (doesn't matter which side), the FASTER vehicle has the right of way, and the other vehicle pulls over to make room. Once you slow down, you forfeit your right to pass first, and then you have to wait. Every Trini driver knows this. Non-Trini drivers don't know this, so they get to learn the hard way, usually by waiting until everyone else has passed through.

So, being a Trini driver, I passed the parked car first, knowing the truck would stop. In fact, I said (in what I thought was a reassuring tone), "No, no, don't worry, he'll stop."

To which she replied (not reassured), "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'HE'LL STOP'?!"

And then we had to go over the rules with her. Fortunately, those other Trini drivers in the car were able to back me up on this, although they'd never thought of the rule as being "the faster vehicle has the right of way" because it was an unspoken rule. I guess I have a knack for verbalizing them. In fact, I think that rule just about sums up all of the unspoken driving rules.

Anyway, I apologize again, Maria, for that stressful drive through San Juan to Maracas Bay. Hope you can forgive me sometime in the next decade. Just kidding! We had a great time at the beach once she realized I wasn't some crackpot who never took Trini driving lessons. Wait, I never took... oh, never mind.

This whole incident reminds me of how we sometimes sit in the passenger seat of life and nervously watch the Lord driving us (if we even allow Him to take the wheel, that is), and question what He's doing, or even where He's taking us. We are stressed out, clinging to things that give us security and terrified of what's coming at us.

But if we listen hard, we can hear Him saying, "Don't worry. I've got it under control. Look out the window and enjoy the ride, and know that I'll get you there safely. Trust me." So we breathe deeply, look around and see the beauty around us, and we can enjoy it, because we know that our Driver is completely trustworthy.

Who's driving your life, and if you're not driving, have you been able to let go and appreciate the scenery?