Recently I have been dreaming about driving in traffic, probably because of a new focus in my waking hours on my Krunchie Cab project.
In one such dream, I was driving into town in a stream of traffic. I had arrived in town and wanted to park, but I was caught in the stream of traffic and there was no place to park. I was in town, but the stream of traffic would carry me through town and out of town, to God knows where.
Then I spotted an opportunity that suddenly presented itself: a broad footpath just beside me. I made an instant decision, indicated and pulled onto this broad footpath. There was just room for my little car here, in between a lamp post and a post box.
My wife and I got out of the car. We wanted to go walking along a lovely country lane that, in the dream, happened to be where Parnell Street is today, stretching from the O'Conell Street junction up to Capel Street. Of course, in reality today, this is a busy city street, crammed with traffic, but in the dream it was a country lane, bound on both sides by leafy hedges and trees. All we had to do was negotiate our way on foot through the stream of traffic to get to the other side.
However, I hesitated. I looked back at the car. Was it all right where it was? Was it vulnerable to vandals or traffic wardens? I saw a man walking towards me who had been a colleague where I worked 20 years ago.
"John," I said, "Do you think will my car be all right there."
"I am no expert on traffic matters," said John.
"I know," I said, "But I only want your opinion."
John looked at the car. It was well clear of the stream of traffic, and was no obstruction to anybody using the footpath.
"It looks fine to me," he said.
But I still had doubts.
While I was looking, another car pulled out of the stream of traffic onto the footpath. But there was no room for it to pull clear of the traffic, and there it sat, half on the footpath and half in the way of the traffic. It caused the stream of traffic to bend and weave and blow angrily.
"Oh no," I thought, "Now the police will be called to solve the traffic problem, and my car will be treated as a culprit the same as this car."
The dilemma remained unresolved.
I wake in the morning to the sound of the radio, which we use as an alarm. Remarkably, in the news was a report of a lobby group who were demanding that the law clamp down on people parking on footpaths.
