A Rare COVID Coincident

Michael Sheehan, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

You probably will never experience this, but I was thoroughly dumbfounded Saturday when Sister Christina and I drove to Hankinson, North Dakota, for our Community meeting.  I just could not remember how to use the cruise control on our car.  Yes, this is true!  We have not taken a long road trip since August of last year, seven months.  Due to the COVID
pandemic so many events were canceled including attendance at the Fargo North Dakota Long Term Care Conference, our second trip to our lake vacation, out of town board meetings.

Due to my tendency to have a “heavy foot” I need to use the cruise control.  Traveling a straight 139 miles on I-29 can tend to get one to want to hurry up.  Well, the Police Force does not agree with this thought.  Trust me; I experienced that situation one time.  And, have you ever slowed up to 55 miles an hour through Fargo, after traveling 75 miles an hour?  It’s a “crawling” sensation.  Thanks for cruise control!

Town driving in Grand Forks does not warrant the use of cruise control unless you want to be careful to drive no faster than 25 miles an hour. In fact, the cruise control does not even work when driving too slowly.  From St. Anne’s Guest Home to Hugo’s grocery store, about seven blocks, to St. Michael’s Church, about ten blocks, to the Post Office about a mile.  With the covid restrictions, we just hardly go anywhere else.

So, we are exiting the off ramp in Grand Forks unto I-29, cars whizzing past us.  So, better get up to speed.  Got to 75 mph but did not want to use foot control all the way.  Yes, cruise control!  But – how do I engage it?  Can’t remember!  Looked around. There is a devise on the steering wheel stating “CRUISE”.  O.K.  So, I pressed it.  Well, a bright orange round light lit up on the steering wheel!  Good grief! What is wrong?  What does that orange “warning light” mean?  Then my brain kicked in!  That means that the cruise is turned on and can be regulated by the control buttons on the opposite side of the steering wheel.

Needless to say, I engaged the cruise control and we “cruised” to Hankinson, plus “cruised” back home after the meeting. Slow brain – fast foot!

Sister Elaine Marie Roggenbuck, OSF

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