Today is going to be 114 degrees with heat index. Tomorrow will be hotter. Of course, the thermostat in our air condition that cools the whole downstairs died, so the unit freezes if you leave it on longer than 30 minutes. I haven’t had a chance to get a new thermostat, so in order to keep 4 cats and 2 dogs cool, I have locked them all in the bedroom while we’re at work today. There, they have everything they need, including 2 air conditioners, one fan, a TV (sorry, no cable), food, water, kitty litter box, and a queen size bed to lounge on.

We had to stop and get gas before jumping on the highway. I paid, Earl pumped, and we both stood there sweating while the price of gas went up another penny.

I looked him and said, "You know in about three months or so, we're going to be standing here freezing." He just kind of looked me.

We ended up being very late to work because some crazy bad traffic. We didn’t want to run the air in the car because the traffic was already sucking up all our gas, so we had the vent on with the windows down. At 7am, it was already 84 degrees. They say it feels more like 91, I say, whats the difference? Its freaking hot. The engine was getting very warm, my back and legs were sticking to the seat which carved pretty fabric lines into my thighs, and my temper was shooting out the sun roof. We were moving 10 mph for 5 miles straight of bumper-to-bumper morons. Finally, we got to the cause of the back up -

A stupid freaking electric sign announcing lane closures - this. Saturday.

WTF? It's Tuesday people. I'm just trying to get to work. I don't care what lanes are closed on Saturday.

Finally, we get to work. I marched right into my office and sent an email to the highway commission. How do I know their email address? Because they’ve been sending me emails about meetings and stuff regarding the highway. Ha. Like I have time for that. I guess they got my email address from my EZPass application, and now that I have line of communication open with them, you can bet I will use it.

Here is my email.

“PLEASE, I beg you. Do not put any distractions up on the highway during rush hour. Particularly, ELECTRIC SIGNS.

This morning, Rt. 78E was backed up for at least 5 MILES because of an electric sign right by the 287Exits. The sign informed us that there would be lane closures on Saturday.... Like any of us care. We're just trying to get to work. Besides, there isn’t any traffic on Saturday. We appreciate the head's up, but send us an email about it or put in the paper...

BECAUSE THIS SIGN caused 5 MILES of back up and we didn’t move more than 10 mph the whole time on the HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR.

In case you haven't noticed - COMMUTERS HAVE A.D.D. We get distracted by our own radio, lawnmowers in the median, garbage on shoulder, the same exits we pass everyday... Please don't expect us to be able to read and drive at the same time. We simply cant handle signs with the pretty lights.

Less distractions = less traffic, less fender benders, and less road rage.

The highway commission needs to do everything in its power to NOT cause any more traffic than there already is.

Please.... TAKE DOWN THAT FREAKING ELECTRIC SIGN. Because even though we read it today, we'll have to stop to read it again tomorrow.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Tired 78 commuter.”

Will it do any good? No. I don’t expect it to. No one ever listens to the people anyway. But it made me feel better writing it.

So, how was your morning? Is it warm by you???

By the way, my word verification was "potzow". I like that. I think it means "gadzooks" or something similar. For instance, "Potzow! Did you see that?!" or "Holy potzow it's hot!"

See? It works both ways.

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