Wide Load

This time of year we’re driving down our narrow country roads with wide equipment.[1]

What was all open farmland 30 years ago is now built up with houses. And all those people means lots of traffic on these narrow roads.

You might think people would be impatient, angry, and reckless as we clog up the roads with wide and slow equipment, but I find my neighbors sharing the roads with me to be almost unfailingly gracious and friendly.

I always pull over and let people pass, but it’s often a quarter mile or more until there’s a wide enough spot to pull over. But when I do finally pull over, almost everyone gives me a wave and a smile. People I meet going the opposite direction will try to find a driveway or wide spot and wait for me to get through.[2].

In a world that seems to be full of haste, it’s just nice to share the road with folks willing to pull over for a few seconds and give you a wave and a smile.

1. Driving down narrow roads with wide equipment, and playing with the camera on our phones.

2. Just before I snapped the picture in this post, a guy pulled off the road to let me by… right across from a post holding a reflector on the opposite ditch. I smiled and gave him a wave… as I smacked the post with the right edge of the combine. I sincerely appreciated the effort on his part, even though he pulled over in a spot where I had no choice but to hit him or the county’s post.