My favorite curmudgeon scolded me once (okay, many times) for talking on the phone while driving.

On the inaugural occasion of his chastisement of me for this failing, he told me to get in my car, drive home, and talk on the phone the entire time.  He went on to say that at the end of the drive, I should try to recall what I had passed on the way.  Feeling that he must surely simply be an old man unduly concerned about the dangers of multi-tasking, I nonetheless dutifully conducted his experiment.

And realized:  I could recall almost nothing of my trip home.  I could not have clearly said if I stopped at red lights, took my normal route home, or saw Santa Claus in a VW with Christmas lights.

Thereafter, I began paying closer attention to Jay’s advice.

He would be tickled to know that I’m driving his Prius and have connected my mobile phone to the car’s computer via Bluetooth.  I am mindful of studies which show that phone-talking engages different parts of the brain than in-person conversation and is more distracting.  But this afternoon, en route home from court, my doctor’s office called and was able to caution me about some test results, and I handled the call without incident with both hands firmly on the steering wheel.

I’m loving it.  With a nod to the one who made this possible for me, I’m feeling particularly blessed to have this luxury in my life.  It might be old hat to some, but to me it is new and already proving to be quite useful.  So it must be said:  Thank you, Jay, for being the instrument of my safe driving and comfortable living once again.