Slug Tales
It was a cold and windy day.
Slugs standing in line were bundled up in their winter coats, their teeth chattering as they waited for a ride home. It was almost March, but it was chilly.
Not in this car. No, inside this car was as hot as Hades.
When I came out of my building that evening to get into the slug line, I was pleasantly surprised to run into a friend, standing at the end of the line. We chatted our way up to the front, ending up in the same car together.
Since talking is normally frowned upon while slugging, we opted to communicate via text throughout the ride. Just a few minutes in, she sent me a text from the front seat, asking if I was too hot.
Sitting in the back seat, I guess the heat hadn’t gotten to me yet, and I told her I felt fine. Then, it hit me – a wave of warm air. At first, it wasn’t too bad. After being so cold, it was nice to get into a warm and toasty car. Until it got a little too toasty. It wasn’t long before the air went from feeling warm and toasty to hot and stuffy. And we were dying.
The driver, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be uncomfortable at all. I noticed she wasn’t wearing a coat or scarf, and I was wearing both. Maybe taking off my scarf would help? I stuffed it into my bag, but felt little relief. My friend joked that she was beginning to feel light headed. At least I thought she was joking, so I sent her graphics of snowflakes and told her to “think cold thoughts.”
It wasn’t working…
The heat was cranking. I started to feel a bit nauseous, but despite that, could say nothing. Slugs are typically at the mercy of the driver, whether it’s with regard to the temperature, the music selection, or anything else, really. Hey, I’ve ridden in cars that smell, cars that are filthy, with drivers who drive erratically and even those who drive 10 mph below the speed limit. It could always be worse.
My friend and I were both breaking into a sweat, when she sent me the good news – the driver finally dialed down the heat!
“She realized it felt like the 3rd ring of Hell and turned it down…” she texted.
Our conversation then turned to iPhone emojis of hands clapping and giving the thumbs up, celebrating and texting happily away until we arrived at the Horner Road Commuter lot. A few times, I wondered if the driver had somehow caught our virtual conversation and finally realized that it was hotter than a sauna in her car.
Either way, my friend and I may have spent half of the ride feeling overheated and car sick, but at least we were able to joke about it! And sometimes, that’s all you need to make an uncomfortable situation more tolerable.
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