Curves - Maryland / by sam taylor

curves

I love driving. I love cars. Maybe it’s the mechanical side of me, some of the same reasons I love photography, where I control the inputs and I control the outputs.

When I was a kid, I had a toy gearshift that I mounted on a board, and an old clock face that I drew a steering wheel on, and I would pretend to drive the racing line up and down the mountain at my parents house. I watched racing with my dad, I learned about engines and transmissions.

I ended up going to college and learning about advanced vehicles - my first job out of college was working on hybrid and electric vehicles, and I loved learning about them and figuring out how to make them work.

And now, today, I find myself lamenting this change coming.

I don’t want driverless cars. I don’t want autonomy. I don’t want infotainment and connectivity.

I want three pedals and a gearshift. I want the feeling of the chassis and the tires loading up, the sound that tires make as they start to slide, and how the pitch changes at the edge.

How ironic it will be if I have to go backward to get it.

Either way, in life and on the road, my favorite part are the curves.

Talk to y’all on Friday.