A couple of days ago I tried to get to my tech’s shop for an 10:00 a.m. appointment. Unfortunately the traffic gods conspired against me, and I got caught in the worst traffic jam that I have seen in years on Highway 1. It took me nearly an hour to travel the less than 3 kms (1.9 miles) between Mt. Lehman and Bradner Rds.
This was all thanks to 2 separate accidents by the Bradner rest stop on Highway 1, and one minivan with a blown out tire. Needless to say I was not impressed. With the temperatures hovering around the 25°C (77° F) mark, sitting at a virtual standstill for nearly an hour on the hot blacktop, in a car without air conditioning, was awful.
As is usually the case in heavy traffic, one lane tends to move faster than the other at times. As cars and trucks jockey back and forth in the extreme volume, you see people doing all kinds of strange things.
Over the years I’ve seen people in traffic jams applying make-up, reading a news paper, working on their computers, as well as using tablets or other portable devices. However on Tuesday, I saw something that I’d never seen before, and as luck would have it, I had my camera with me to capture the moment. The person beside me was playing his (her?) guitar…
Jammin’ In A Traffic Jam
Now I just happened to have my Toneking alto with me, and was tempted to break it out and play a few notes. :saxy: Unfortunately the right lane (I was in the left), was moving faster at that point in time, and the unknown guitar player got ahead of me.
If this idea sounds familiar to you, it might be because of this article I wrote in October 2011. In it I quote an article from the Daily Buzz, which mentions the Calgary Police’s crack-down on distracted drivers. It netted them, among others, a woman playing sax while driving. :loco:
Clearly I was joking about breaking out my alto and playing some notes. That was never going to happen. However, it was certainly tempting for just a fleeting moment, as my grey matter was baking, and I temporarily lost all common sense.
Playing sax during a traffic jam? If you’re the driver, it is likely among the stupidest things you can do. If you’re a passenger? Well it’s still pretty stupid. The chances of getting the mouthpiece rammed into your throat in the event of sudden deceleration, is just too great. But hey, as a former paramedic, I gotta tell you, those kinds of actions are called “job security” for emergency responders. 😈
As a sax player, the only thing you can play in a car would be this little devil’s horn… :devil1:
It’s a devil’s horn, because the surgeon is going to have a devil of a time getting it out your throat after you swallow it in that rear-ender car accident. 😈
For traffic jam practice as a driver my prefered woodwind is the picolo.
Only with earplugs and when the car is not moving.
Safety first.
A trumpet player friend of mine keeps a pocket trumpet on the passenger seat and picks it up while waiting at red lights. He’s not particularly tempted to play while actually driving, since the car has a manual transmission. 🙂
LOL. a lot of NYC studio musicians live in Northeastern Pennsylvania and take Interstate 80 back and forth. I have heard stories of George Young playing soprano while driving (no traffic jam) and I actually saw a drummer driving, drumming with sticks on his steering wheel. Crazy.