The Lonely Road: Prairie Miles

"These highways are not really lonely; though they are long and isolated. It is the people on them that get lonely." Felicity talked to herself, as she drove through the prairies. "Prairie miles just seem to fly by."

Suddenly, in the rear view mirror, she saw a huge, dark cloud forming to the of the highway. It was growing larger, very quickly.

"Should I stop?" she wondered, turning on the car radio hoping for a weather report. The reception was poor. "That is mostly static."

It began to drizzle.

"This is not good," Felicity said, wondering what she would do if the weather got worse. She watched the sky carefully, as the clouds became even more foreboding. "I am miles from the next town. It may be a long distance from the highway too." 

She could hear thunder rumbling, and through the rear view mirror could see intermittent streaks of lightning in the distance, behind the car. "I still have a really, long drive. Maybe I should stop for a moment, take a sip of coffee and snap a picture." 

She quickly pulled off the road. The huge, black clouds seemed to be perched on top of a small hill beside the highway. She snapped a photograph with her smart phone. 

"Gorgeous picture, but almost frightening. Ominous, is more like it."

Felicity grabbed her thermos and took a quick sip of coffee. She looked to the left, and realized that she could see for miles in that direction. The weather seemed to be exactly the opposite there, but now, it was definitely raining.

"Out-run the storm? Then, I don't have any time to waste."

Meanwhile, transport trucks and other vehicles whizzed on by. No was slowing down, much less stopping. Nor did they pull into the gas station Felicity passed, moments later.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do," the old adage came to mind.

Several hours later, after out-distancing the storm front, she arrived in Medicine Hat. In the motel, she quickly turned on the television. A weather advisory reported earlier tornado activity in the area through which she had driven. 

"Thank God I got out of there when I did'" Felicity said. "I was far too busy out-running that storm to get lonely. The road that is lonely. No one stops on those prairie highways."