SPEEDING ALONG

When my husband was performing in two Shakespeare plays this summer, at the Delacorte theater, in Central Park, he took a subway to the park every day, then walked, wended his way along the curved, complicated path that leads to the backstage areas of the theater and entrance for actors.

After each performance, he left the stage area in a golf cart. It is the Shakespeare Festival's policy now. Actors don't walk through the park after a show. It's not safe. They are driven to the park's east side or west side exits, in one of the park's golf carts.

Zoom -- speeding along, you sit in a seat and hold onto the cart's rails. The wind's in your face. The driver is your chauffeur. He knows how to avoid crowds and collisions with humans and other carts. When he crosses the one road that he has to cross, at the stop light, he waits until there is no other traffic.

It was interesting -- it got us where we needed to go, in a easy-going way that enabled us to relax and see things we ordinarily wouldn't have seen.

The cart left us (passenger Cullum, wife Em, other actors, guests) on fifth avenue, where we could safely flag a taxi, or head for a city bus or subway.

What a ride! What a easy, pleasant way to get around.

In Los Angeles, our son has a 2010 Mini Cooper sports car. He wants to buy the 2011 new Mini Cooper because it comes with a warranty to fix major things (transmission, brakes, etc). Therefore -- "Please Mom and Dad, if I buy a new car, and trade in my old Mini Cooper? I might need a ."loan."

Why? He explained that the cost of repairs is unbelievably high, sky high because it's a foreign car. Son JD said it's much more economical to buy a new car.

Holy smoke, Holy Cow! Do you see the new car ads? Do they drift over your subconscious -- those "new" cars -- the shiny, pretty "tin," (dent-susceptible), same style cars that have been overpriced, are now higher-priced?

The ads proclaim, and tout great mileage --it's the same mileage the manufacturers were getting three years ago when their cars were gulping down too much gas! The new (same as the old) lovely color cars continue to dent from a pebble, and crumple if anything -- be it a tree branch, guard rail, bike -- or other car -- happens to even slightly graze it.

The Shakespeare Festival of 2011 is now an event on John Cullum's resume. JD, our son, is still mulling over buying a new car so save money? To avoid hassles of car repairs that sooner or later every car needs? The fall weather has peeked in on us, disappeared, reappeared, and we're dancing in the rain more often than usual, I think.

I can't help thinking traveling on shanks' mare (they way people did it before there were autos) is a way to go.

It's good exercise.

Getting somewhere -- wherever you live -- means traffic jams. And riding around, looking, searching for a place to park.

What's the hurry? Hurrying to get somewhere distracts and wastes the time for seeing, hearing, smelling, absorbing and living -- just plain breathing and taking in the scenery and living your life.