One-Way Traffic

#543
An “All traffic” sign points ahead to the only possible direction in the middle of the day in a busy unknown city on a one-way route. The Sat Nav clearly states otherwise with a sharp, repetitive “Make a u-turn where possible.” Neither was this the intended route. How did I end up here, and how do I make my way through? This is the third time I have seen this stretch!

There are times when the one-way street just is not where you want, or need to be. Slowly following all the other cars, as they impatiently try to weave through the traffic and get a little further ahead. As I lean towards frustration, I wonder whether this is perhaps all they can do to break the mould, to exert their individuality. Or does a sense of importance  urge them forward?

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to our own way….” Well, if only we could turn our own way! Claustrophobia sets in as I realise there is no getting out! I’m stuck in this one way traffic with all of these other cars, blindly following, unable to question…no-one to ask. A desperate plea begins to lurch from deep within – a loud, shrill scream escapes.

My heart is in my head, beating loud and fast. “Make a u-turn where possible” has become my theme tune, repeated over and over in my head as everything becomes black. An unceasing horn beeps from somewhere around me, but I am powerless to act. Overwhelmed by this one way traffic, which is not my way, I try to abort or eject, to go a different way.

Yet this is the one thing which the system will not allow. Health and safety, law and order and “It’s always been like this” offer justifications for this one-way traffic, but each excuse seems steeped in bureaucracy, unable to hear criticism or alternative suggestions. And so we remain stuck in this crazy one-way system, which fails for so many navigators – how could this be my way?!