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That is the question facing many Long Islanders everyday. In this sense I’m talking about traffic laws. Luckily for me our office is a short trip from my home and I feel for those of you that have long commutes. The congestion on Long Island is one problem; our public transportation is another problem. However increasingly I find people who do not obey traffic laws are an even greater problem.

On a regular basis I see people running stop signs, running red lights, passing moving traffic across double yellow lines, driving on the shoulder to pass others at stop lights, using turning lanes as passing lanes and so on. Sometimes when I drive I’m left feeling like it’s the Wild West and we’re in the middle of shoot outs with people running for cover at every turn.

As that parent of a teenager daughter I became more sensitive last week when she got her drivers permit. On the back roads of Huntington I have driven with my daughter four times during the week and on each occasion we experienced someone running a stop sign. These were not the oops I forgot to stop, at least I hit my brakes and tried to stop incidents… these were the I don’t care whose at the intersection, I’m more important and just going to drive through incidents.

In four short trips with my daughter she has faced things I never faced when driving with a permit and that I wish she didn’t have to. She now is questioning whether she wants to drive on certain roads in the area, not because of the general anxiety of a new driver, but because of the blatant disregard of traffic laws and courtesy by other drivers that is scaring the hell out of her. And because some of her friends who also just got there permits also don’t want to drive in the area for the same reasons.

I am not perfect by any means, sometimes I might drive to fast or follow to close. But the levels of people who blatantly disregard traffic laws are concerning I get of sense they are actually enjoying the thrill of putting my life and the live’s of others in jeopardy.

How sad, for her and the other kids starting to drive. Let’s answer the question for ourselves. Show some respect for others, it takes approximately 5-10 seconds more to stop at a stop sign. When you pass on the double yellow, you will invariably end up stopped at the next light. Hit the brakes, don’t blow the dead red. You get the picture. Let’s just show some common decency and help the kids learning to drive today survive on our roads.

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My business partner Matt got married last Friday. Before I write this post I want to congratulate Matt and his new wife Tara, who are off honeymooning at the moment, on their marriage!

A couple of days before Matt’s wedding we had lunch together, it was his last day in the office, I asked him to have lunch with me so I could wish him well on his new journey. During our lunch we talked about many things, surprisingly we managed to make sure none of them included the business. However a lot of what we talked about paralleled our relationship, as business partners and through the birth of the magazine.

Much of our chat centered on communication and expectations in relationships. I was happy to hear how focused Matt and Tara have been on their communication as they became husband and wife, as well as, the expectations they each have for the marriage. I shared with Matt that my wife and I spent time, prior to and after getting married, on the same things and we’ve found those exercises helpful as we have gone through the ebbs and flows of our life together.

I was touched as Matt shared what he and Tara have learned. It was touching because even though Matt and I have been working together for about 18 months, this was one of the rare occasions we just sat down and talked about life. Usually our time together is focused the excitement of canvas, the challenges of running the business and what needs to get done today, tomorrow and in the future. I think we learned a lot more about each other that day. Although we only spent a couple hours, it seemed like a lot longer length of quality time, –time that I feel was well spent.

So, what’s the purpose of my writing this post? I’ve asked myself that question a few times and I’m not exactly sure what the purpose is. Yet, I have felt compelled to write it since our lunch. Maybe the purpose is to inspire others like us who are faced with the hectic challenges of life to spend some time just talking, just sharing. Just discussing what they want, what they think and maybe even as we did that day, just sharing life stories. Maybe it’s because that lunch was one of those moments in time that stand out and you want to mark it, even though it might not have any significance to anyone but me and Matt. Maybe it’s because in that moment I could sense that Matt’s happiness was contagious and I want to share with others some of that happiness which spilled over to me that day.

Tom Pellicane – Publisher, canvas Magazine