The new pavement on Highway 54 west of Nevada has a new gimmick for that road. When I am driving to town and look over to see what the Sloans are doing, if my car follows my gaze a bit, I get a wake-up call from a rattle beneath my tires. Many highways have this feature, but it was new to this section of 54. When you think you know every bump, crack or blemish on a familiar road it can be surprising when something new is added.

It didn't take me a second to get back in my lane and pay attention to my driving instead of my neighbors.

A few more miles into town took me by the new Veterinary Clinic on the North side of the road. I noticed that there was a Shetland Pony in the lot outside the clinic. I couldn't tell if it appeared to be injured in some way or not. But as I was wondering (and probably wandering) the line in the middle of the pavement set up a howl that said, "Get back in your own lane. You are trespassing." I obeyed quickly. The rest of the day I was a very alert driver and since then, the only times I have heard the highway talking to me was when I was passing a car and therefore needed to cross the middle line.

I am sure that this advancement in highway paving has saved many a life-or at least many a fender. It is quite different from the first ground covering that I remember on this highway. I'm not sure just when Highway 54 was paved, but my early memories of the trip to town take place on a gravel road. I especially remember the detour we had to take while the road was being paved. We went south and came in on what has later been known as Happy Hollow Road. (It has a new official name now, however.)

We dreaded having to go up or down the steep hill west of the entrance to Mindem Bluffs or Pickeral Springs. (Also old-time names). The cars had trouble getting up and down the hill and often the family would get out and walk rather than take the risky ride.

But now we have nice new pavement, and built-in warning systems to keep us in our place.

I am trying to figure out how we could develop a similar system for our everyday life as pedestrians, or even while we are in our easy chairs.

For example; if we go into the kitchen to get a drink of water but get side-tracked by a fly buzzing around and go to look for the fly swatter, but can't find it but see the headlines on the Nevada Daily Mail that we hadn't noticed, and sit down to read the article, a buzzer would go off. It would tell us that we have strayed from our course and are in danger of not reaching our destination. Of course the destination was to get a drink of water, but that has been forgotten by now. Actually even the fly swatter search is probably also forgotten.

There would need to be some way that the buzzer could remind us of what we were really planning to do. Otherwise when we heard the warning we wouldn't understand what we were being warned about.

Or maybe, if we aren't even moving around, but have settled down to study our Sunday school lesson, but notice that Oprah is on the TV The buzzer could alert us to the fact that we have strayed from our original intention.

I have thought of a hundred different ways that this concept could be adapted to life off the road. I don't know how it can be worked, but somebody else can figure that out. I need to go get a drink of water.