I have commuted many times in my past professional life. I worked in Falmouth, and in Sebago for many years. I really had no problem with those drives. I listened to morning radio and had that time just for myself to prep for the day or process it depending on which direction I was going. I’m finding this drive this year a bit more difficult. I think it is largely the route.

I drive from Brunswick to Lewiston almost entirely on route 196. For those that don’t know it, it starts in Topsham and proceeds through Lisbon Falls and Lisbon to downtown Lewiston. It is a hateful road. The speed limit varies from 15 miles per hour (in the school zone in Lisbon) to 50 miles per hour. It feels like it should always be between 45-50 miles per hour, but inexplicably dips to 30 at odd intervals. Now one thing I’ve known my whole life is that the Lisbon police love to pull you over for speeding. It’s happened to me once and to my family members many times. They will pull you over if you are going even 3 miles over the speed limit. Fun. This requires vigilance that I can’t consistently muster before 7 am.

It’s not just the speed. There is really not one thing that is nice to look at on this route. Old houses, businesses ranging from tractor supply to cannabis, and trailers prevail. The annoying “Furniture Superstore” with it’s horrid jingle is one of the main attractions. Lisbon, while a cute town is not cute from 196. There are abandoned mills, parking lots, and large stacks of timber that stand out. In between Lisbon Falls and Lisbon center, there is an ice cream store in the same building as a gun shop. Kind of says it all.

For now, I will try to focus on listening to music and the way the fog rolls up from the Androscoggin river. I may start listening to podcasts as I think morning radio is more annoying than informative or satisfying. I have looked at alternate routes but none is more direct and won’t add miles. In my previous post, I talked about my interest in focusing on the “now” and living in the “moment”. Perhaps I will suspend this goal during my drives and day dream about the rolling corn fields and cows in France.