travelling buddy
when i am on a long road trip, i will sometimes collect a travelling buddy.
this is someone who is [a] a complete stranger, [b] going in the same direction (and usually to the same destination), and [c] going close enough to my speed of choice.
on a long trip through highly un-populated landscapes, i develop an emotional attachment to my travelling buddy.
if s/he fails to pass a vehicle that i just zoomed around, i become worried about losing them. i cheer them on when approaching a passing zone. if they pull off at a rest stop, i consider (but rarely do) pulling off as well so as to not lose them. if we do happen to stop at the same place, i wonder how appropriate it would be for me to make small talk and express my relief of having them with me - i dont want them to think me a freak stalker and leave without me.
at first i thought that i was alone in adopting traveling buddies, but my sister-in-law in anchorage said that she does the same thing.
so now i wonder, is it a female need to become emotionally attached to anonymous drivers while on long road trips? do males have a similar response? how about you?
2004
4 Love Notes
I do the same thing, but to a lesser degree.
Until the end of the second paragraph, I was worried you were picking up hitchikers... :)
I've never adopted a driving buddy. When I'm driving, although I pay careful attention to what's going on around me, my "higher-level" thoughts are on what I'm hearing on NPR. I find driving to be incredibly boring, so the radio keeps my mind busy.
I doubt most males do this. From what I've seen, the typical male (around here, at least) sees every other driver as a competitor, not a potential buddy...
i wonder if i would still seek out others for travelling if i didnt live in alaska. maybe i do it because there really are expanses of nothing for hundreds of miles, and if i got into an accident it might be a long time before someone drives by.
haha how funny to think about "travel buddies".. Well put Valette. It's really not just the gals who get attached either, I think the gals are just more comfortable admitting it. Marty and I have always thought of the other car as "the guy who'll get the speeding ticket first" or in other cases "the dude who wishes he could drive as great as us" as they struggle to keep up. My dad and his buddies are the same way even at 50 & 60 yrs old. And of course the more buddies you get the faster you can go! :)
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