Editor's note: This week, Lance Roeske joins the ranks of Commuter Crossroads columnists. He drives to work--up Interstate 95 to Springfield from his home in Spotsylvania County. Before joining the commuting crowd, he taught English at Stafford High School.
IT IS ALWAYS a bit like treasure
I have never actually seen an item fall from a vehicle, but from the looks of the shoulders, I must be the only commuter who's in the wrong places at all the right times. Items must be falling from vehicles everywhere I am not.
The stretch of interstate between Richmond and Washington is little more than a 100-mile-long flea market.
Ten yards of men's clothing, all of which look in good condition, lie abandoned--pants, T-shirts, dress shirts and an assortment of socks. The debris would look normal on the floor of a college dorm room, but a bit out
I envision some poor soul arriving to an event, only to discover that his suitcase, unzipped and open, is empty of its contents.
Five yards of new "House for Sale" signs are strewn about just north of the Fredericksburg exit. They're new and rather expensive looking. Obviously, this was not their intended resting place.
My imagination sees young, gung-ho real-estate agents making the rounds to place signs on their listed properties, only to discover that they're 12 short. They will have to come up with some story to tell their boss--maybe a story about a wild pack of sign-stealing kids running rampant through the neighborhood, their bedroom closets filled with House for Sale signs.
A large green-and-brown tackle box lies upside down and unopened just off the shoulder in the brush. Is there an unhappy sportsman sitting somewhere on the edge of a river as his companions cast their first lines of the day?
Perhaps he will find that his friends are the generous types, willing to lend him some of their tackle. Maybe he'll spend the day wondering what lucky fisherman will happen across a box full of his favorite tackle.
The next time you find yourself traveling the I-95 corridor, look up from the movie you are watching or the book you are reading.
There is little doubt that you will have plenty to feed your imagination as you peruse 95's odds and ends. Happy hunting.
Write Lance Roeske c/o Commuter Crossroads, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401. Or e-mail
Email: newsroom@freelancestar.com.