Driving is very therapeutic, don't you think? Cruising down a highway with your favorite tunes blasting in double bass. Feeling the vibrations of the music with the trembling of the road beneath you. Ahhh…

Driving at night is the best. I remember driving back from work late one night; it was 11:00 PM or so. I came to the last red light of a street that would became a highway for the next fifteen miles or so.

Another car came up to my left. I looked over. It was a kid roughly my age. He looked over. I looked at the light. It turned green and I jammed on the gas.

My car surged forward. Seconds later, his followed suit and began to inch in front of me. I looked over at him again. Just as he began to turn my way, I put my eyes straight ahead, and pressed down.

My engine roared; my car hit 80 and growled up to 90. We passed by a speed limit sign of 55.

It was late on a weekday, so there weren't many other cars on the street. The few that were there served as obstacles in our competition.

We came upon a few cars. There was a slow driver in my lane. I had to loosen up on the gas. My opponent took the opportunity and claimed the lead.

I darted over to the right, lapped the slow driver and jumped in front of him to avoid rear-ending a driver in the right lane.

My opponent was several car lengths ahead of me. I had a lot of time to make up. So I pushed my car past 90.

It growled under my feet. Slight movements of the steering wheel were amplified ten-fold. My opponent seemed to be losing his nerve and slowed down. I overtook him easily.

When he was behind me again, a renewed sense of competition struck him. He caught up and was side-by-side with me for a few miles. Both of us kept our cars between 90 and 100.

Suddenly, he slowed down dramatically. Maybe he had a radar detector and got wind of a Five-O. It was probably dumb of me to go racing without one.

I took his act as one of cowardice and kept my foot on the gas. Well, I eased it back to 80, but no less. I saw him in my rearview mirror descend to the legal speed limit. But I didn't see any flashing lights.

Ha! Sucker. I made it to the end of the highway without incident. I was triumphant once again. "Maybe tomorrow night's opponent will put up more of a fight," I thought to myself as I pulled into my driveway.

. . .

Do you find driving therapeutic?