My Second Valentine

Note: this posting was conceived and written while driving back to Baltimore. As I drove my Element on the Belt Parkway I remembered the excitement and joy driving in New York brings. For some reason I just don’t get the same pleasure driving in Baltimore. I drove into the city on Friday and the Westside Drive was exhilarating as well as navigating the city streets. It makes you feel like you’re a NASCAR driver. My Element held its own against the taxis; I think my recently keyed car intimidated them.

With Valentine’s Day passing recently, I realized I have a second Valentine. Sure my wife will always be my first and most important one. My second is my Valentine One, my radar detector. For those who drive a lot, the radar detector is a necessary accessory for your vehicle.

I lost my first Valentine One about four years ago, it was stolen out of my Jetta while I was at a yoga class. The junkie hit about six cars in the yoga studio’s parking lot on a nice Sunday afternoon. At that point I wasn’t driving up to New York much so I never replaced it. They are expensive, ~$400, and probably not needed if you are just driving around in Baltimore.

With my marriage to my New York wife, we are now driving much more frequently and I needed to replace my Valentine One. What I learned from my first loss was never leave it in my car. I purchased the detector and a slick carrying case.

It’s well known that variability of speed causes accidents, not speed alone. I use mine to ensure that I keep the same speed as the traffic and avoid a ticket if they happen to be exceeding the speed limit.