The Work Day Commute Of all the parts of the average work day, perhaps none is quite so difficult to warm up to as the commute. The job itself varies — some are better than others — but hey, at least you're getting paid for your effort, right? But for most people, the commute represents as much as an hour or more a day (sometimes each way) trapped in a car, bus, or train. It's like some sort of workaday purgatory, a way-station of stress, aggravation, and traffic less than an hour after rolling out of bed — or worse yet, after completing a gruelling day of work. At least, that's one way of looking at it. But we figured it'd be a popular one, and when we recently asked you to tell us about your commute, we expected heaps of horror stories from out on the highways. We got a few of those, but most of your responses caught us looking the other way. It seems a lot more folks than we'd expected live just a short drive (or closer) to their place of business:

nanderson: I'm one of the spoiled few. I live two blocks from work, so driving isn't in the picture. While walking to work, I get a chance to prioritize what I have to get done that day. It is a very "stressless" commute.

webman: I am self-employed and live just 2 miles from the office. I drive to work, but only put 10,000 miles per year on my car.

chemrebel1: I thought I'd be a rarity in this time with my 5-minute, 1.5-mile commute to work. I guess I'm not alone!

mayoreric: I think my commute is pretty reasonable: My wife and I have an apartment upstairs from the cafe and bar that we own.

AlecM: I am very lucky in that I only live one Metro stop from work in Washington, D.C. (thus avoiding all the nasty, crowded highways I hear so much about as I'm getting dressed). If it's nice out, I walk home.

As I say, it wasn't quite the maddening trend we'd expected, though it's nice to see that some Tripod members have managed to maintain a healthy level of sanity and pleasure in their commutes. On the other hand, some aren't quite so fortunate...

Melby: You guys are the luckiest saps! I live about 35 miles from my work. The commute in the morning is very hellish with the afternoon being little better. I usually leave about an hour before I have to be at work. And it takes me about 45 minutes to get there.

eckel: I have well over an hour commute, mostly on two-lane roads. It sucks. I spend my time cursing backhoes and landscape trucks who drive approximately 20 miles per hour wherever they go because THEY ARE ON THE CLOCK! To compensate, I tend to drive 80 whenever I am not behind them.

rjay: I am one of those unlucky few who have a 30-mile one way commute. I've been on this rat track now for fifteen years and it's getting OLD! I hate it!! I hate the ride home because there is more traffic and I'm always in a hurry to get home. If it rains, I call that my gun commute. I wish I had a gun to push those slow drivers outta my way. I do not commute in snow (can't afford it if I hit something or someone plows into me). I DO NOT LIKE COMMUTING; IT SUCKS!!!!!!!

Um, rjay? I want you to put down those keys very slowly, and back away from the Impala. Can you do that for me? Believe me, it's for your own good; outside of Southern California, "heavy traffic" pretty much never holds up as a mitigating circumstance for murder. So look into mass transit, will ya? Or perhaps the secret to tranquility is right under your nose. What's on your radio?

Lyn_Nelson: I listen to my cassette collection most mornings, which includes classic rock groups as well as Christian music and newer alternative groups. I also listen to personal development tape series and motivational speakers' tapes. I like to think of it as my own personal university on wheels!

Ti: I eat my breakfast in the car and listen to the news on NPR, so the drive isn't too bad.

eluck: My radio is set to listen to the "Rush L." show when I go to work. He keeps me informed and smiling.

Robnett: I listen to the paranoid, uneducated radio talk show hosts whine about the evils of the Internet.

Maybe eluck and Robnett ought to carpool — it sounds like they're listening to the same stuff! But for some, even the dulcet tones of America's biggest talk talent just don't cut it. Some commuters, it seems, turn to a more spiritual source in their search for peace on the parkway:

Caroleden: I live in the Mother Lode and have 36+ miles to drive, but I love it. First I pray the Rosary, which makes me relax and I'm more considerate of the other commuters. Sometimes the traffic is slow because of a person who is not used to driving on the two-lane roads, so I just relax and enjoy the scenery, as I drive. I leave early enough that there is no need to hurry and I'm not stressed in the least.

baboostax: Living in New York, I take the S train to work. Since I fear the germ-ridden cars, I begin chanting my mantra as soon as the doors close with that thoroughly unpleasant ping. People kind of look at me funny. I speak my reactions into a voice recorder so that the humiliations visited upon me daily will be remembered. I might sue.

It sounds like a nice way to go, especially for you, baboostax! (Say, didn't I give you half a sandwich once?) But these weren't the most enviable commuter tales we received in response to our survey. That honor belongs to littleb70, who's got us all trumped — and knows it:

I have it better than all of you! I live and work at a camp. The office is about a 20-second walk out my front door. Our 1,000 natural, beautiful acres is my main office, and also my backyard.

Ok, ok, you got us. After all, who wouldn't jump at a thousand-acre office? But didn't anyone ever teach you that it's not polite to gloat? I mean, I may be cramped up behind a miniature desk — but at least it never rains in my office...

Anyway, thanks for participating, all. Now get on back to the Work and Money homepage!

— Dan Reines, editorial assistant