v26.6: Why Me? - 31

Good morning folks,

-slurp-

I had a very interesting evening last night.  I left work as I normally do and drove the same route I've driven since I moved into our house last year but for some strange reason yesterday felt different.

-slurp-



I was approximately half way home somewhere between Halifax and Bedford.  I was behind this half ton truck who was driving well under the speed limit in the fast lane.  Evertime I went to pass this guy on the right side he would speed up to match my speed until we caught up to the car in front of me forcing me to brake and then I would move back into the left lane and the guy would slow down.  Frustrating and I'm sure we have all been there at least once in our lives.  This guy was starting to get on my nerves.

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He had a cap on the back of his truck so I could not see him but every once in awhile I would get a glimpse of his face through his side mirror and I swear he had a big grin on his face like he was either having a fun time playing with me or was listening to his favorite 8-trak tape of the BeeGees.  Regardless, this guy was about to get a taste of some 4 cylinder power of my Kia.  I waited until there was a long enough gap in the right lane and then I pulled out to pass; I dropped my car into 2nd gear and floored it.  This guy did not disappoint as it seemed he was matching the speed of my car exactly as I came up along side of him.  I chanced a glace over at him and saw that smiling face, he was looking straight ahead and looked completely oblivous that I was even there.  I was doing approximately 130KM/h now and this guy was still accelerating with me.  I looked ahead and saw the traffic ahead speeding closer and closer with each second; if I didn't pass this guy now I was going to have to slow down again and get behind him.  I looked over one last time and this time the guy was staring straight at me.  The smile had faded from his face and the only word I can come up with to describe his expression is surprised.  The next instant the guy hammers on his brakes and I fly by just barely seeing the car in front of me before swerving into the passing lane.  I checked my rear view mirror but there was no sigh of the truck; in fact, it was almost like he was never there.

-slurp-

I drove on and tried to forget the incident.  I felt strange; everything around me felt strange.  I couldn't put my finger on it but there was definately something different.  In fact, even the sun looked different some how.  I drove a few more KM and then I saw a sign I did not expect; left lane ends 1KM.  I didn't recall that sign being there before.  Perhaps there was some construction ahead.  I drove on for another kilometer and sure enough, the highway in front of me merged to the right and it went to single lane.  The highway was no longer twinned; someone had played a cruel joke and decided to revert the highway back to single lane with oncoming traffic and passing lanes.  Something most definitely didn't feel right.

-slurp-

I hadthis strange feeling that the normal exit I would take to get home wasn't going to be there so I took the first exit I came to and decided to head for home that way; this day was starting to become very strange.  When I pulled off the highway and into town I noticed a lot of things were different; the cars were completely different.  I would have swore that there was an antique show in town if it wasn't for every single car looking like an antique.  I was getting some odd stares in my direction as people looked at me and my car.  People on the sides of the road stopped and pointed, other drivers pulled over to the side of the road to let me pass so they could stare; it was a surreal experience.

-slurp-

I turned down the familiar road to my house except now it wasn't all that familar.  I recognized the road but the firehall was gone and replaced with a baseball field and road leading to the lake was made of dirt.  I turned down the road to my house and was relieved to see it was still standing.  There was an unfamiliar car in the driveway and the house somehow looked different; newer and cleaner.  Against my better judgement I decided to pull into the driveway and press the remote garage door opener; nothing happened.  I turned off the car and got out and stood listening.  There was silence dotted with the sounds of lawn mowers and children playing.  A man stepped out of the house onto the front porch and greeted me.  He had a worried look in his face but curiosity overwhelmed him.  He eyed me up and down, glanced at my car and then back to me.  He asked me where I was from.  I tried to explain to him that this was my house and started spewing questions asking him where my wife and kids were, what happened to the fire hall and what the hell was going on.  He regarded me with sad eyes; he must have thought I was off my rocker.  He invited me inside for a cold drink; I accepted, afterall, this was my house.  I stepped inside.  It was my house alright at least where the walls and windows were; everything else was completely different.  Where our sunroom was now stood a wall with a patio door going out onto a small deck.  I was in shock.  I ran out the door and got into my car and started to drive.  It was then that I finally clued in and figured out what had happened.  I some how ended up in the past; how far into the past I did not know.

-slurp-

I drove to the first gas station I could find that had unleaded gasoline and luckly I had some change in my car.  I couldn't remember the last time I saw gas prices around 35 cents a litre.  I walked into the station to pay for my gas and that is when I noticed the calendar behind the attendant; June 1982.  I dropped my money on the counter, told the attendant to keep the change and walked out.  1982!  What was I going to do?  I could only think of one place I could go, one place that was only a memory from my childhood; I needed to head to the South Shore.

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To be continued... :)