Fog in a Southern City

I walk a ways past a bayou on my morning commute. Some days it is hard. Some days I take my life in my own hands. This morning had a thick fog for this area blanketed over it. The fog here is white at the sides and a light blue at the top. It is spotty and rarely too thick to drive through. It is never too thick to walk through. Not that I've ever seen. That is, except in the dark in the woods. Even with a light it can be difficult to keep from walking in to a tree or a fallen log.

People here don't get much experience driving in fog, snow or ice. When these things do happen, most people take caution. I've never been hit by a car when it was raining or foggy. I've only been hit in clear weather. At worst it was overcast, but dry. It reminds me of a statistic that I heard that people who driver cars with anti lock breaks and a dozen airbags  get in more accidents.

The news spoke of the fog as though it were a plague. The warnings rang though the mist. I've heard a traffic commentator say something like "It is a normal day with nothing wrong, so be careful. Cause that's when the y get-ya." He was joking, but it is a bit true. When things are 'normal' your guard is down. I know I do it.

As I walked, I took note of how far ahead things went out of vision. I'm not a reliable judge, but I tried any way. There is not a wall where you see things on the close side and do not see things on the far side. Cars simply melt away as they drive on. Some leave their break lights as a last gasp of existence. Trees and houses simply watch me pass by. The few people take no notice as I pass.

At my walk's end, the busy intersection is calm. There are many people going every which way. The traffic moves better than in clear weather. The people seem more patient and willing to compromise to make it to their destination. The bus driver takes half a cycle of the light to just wait for a good spot to pull in to traffic. Well, most of the drivers do that anyway.

On the ride, I stared out the window at a world packed in gray cotton candy. Places where there is grass or trees are thick. Parking lots and buildings make the fog more thin. The ground is wet in most places. Everywhere there are people. It looks like it should be cold. It is not. It is seventy degrees or so. It is humid, thus the fog. It feels thick as swimming in soup. People are sweating, but it does them no good. Traffic flowed smoothly. It was faster in the fog. Not that people went faster, but it felt that it had not taken as long because fewer people were in that dangerous hurry that gets people killed. The commute was less stressful in the fog than on a clear day. How messed up is that?

It was quiet this morning. Not really. All the sounds were there. The fog didn't stop the waves from moving about. People were muted in some way. They were thinking more quiet thoughts. It showed in their attitude and actions. It was nice. Hell, I wish every day was foggy on the commute.

The fog was still hanging around, though not as thick, at lunch time. The sun was shining. It was warm, but there was a funny bite to the air. It was like the atmosphere reminded me of somewhere I've never been.