Paving the Way - Part 1

I'm not trying to make a career out of contesting clichés, though I doubt I'd complain if I could, but I cringe when I hear people say that the journey is far more important than the destination. I won't even get in my car unless I have a destination in mind. I may enjoy singing along to very loud music or listening to comedy while I drive, but I definitely don't drive just for fun. I need to know where I'm going.

However I must concede that the nature of the journey can have a major impact on the perception of the destination. If I were driving my family to a big city in another state for a nice 4 day weekend, and one of my tires went flat on the highway in the middle of nowhere, my flashlight batteries were dead, I cut myself on the jack while trying to put on my spare, had to deal with the flashing high beams of drivers behind me who would rather harass me for driving the speed limit than pull into the passing lane, and I finally got to the hotel only to find out that they had overbooked and did not have a room for us, my time at my destination would not be classifiable as quality time.

In such a case the quality and nature of the journey are paramount.

Of course, before starting the car I could have bought a full size spare, checked the air pressure in my tires, bought new batteries for my flashlight as well as a DC powered lamp, practiced using the jack in case I were to have a flat, made sure that my cell phone was fully charged in case I needed roadside assistance, and called the hotel in advance to make sure we still had a room available. The journey itself can then be relaxing and stress-free, and it becomes integral to the vacation, making it enjoyable from the time we start driving, not merely from the time we arrive at our destination.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
- Benjamin Franklin

"Prepare or repair."
-Yours truly