A Foggy January

January has been quite strange to me.  I don‘t think I can ever recall so many fog events in one month in this area over the course of my 23 years here. Yes, the temperatures swung in many directions giving us freezing temps one week, thunderstorms the next and balmy spring-like conditions during another week, but what about this fog?

Indeed the fog set against the swaying pines presents a majestic view, but it’s dangerous for drivers, especially at night and early morning. Aside from avoiding traffic accidents with other cars, vehicle operators must avoid road obstructions such as construction barrels, downed tree branches and even potholes that they would see with no problem in normal conditions.

With reduced visibility, those active deer suddenly appear before drivers that could give them real automobile damage headaches while making their insurance companies even wealthier.

Walking, jogging, running or cycling in the fog is my preferred method of experiencing this natural wonder without the worry or hassle of negotiating an automobile through the fog. Unfortunately, I must drive too much in all of our weather conditions.

I have a love-hate relationship with fog. My love stems from my appreciation of its beauty. My dislike of the fog comes from my overly-cautious father who provided me with countless lectures on the dangers of driving through “pea-soup fog.”

Every time a fog-related accident occurred in the news, my father immediately pointed out the wrath of its fury. One such episode happened just two weeks after I drove through a typically foggy Tennessee area on my long drive up to visit him in Cleveland, Ohio. A massive multi-vehicle accident happened near a paper production plant on I-75. Experts say that the paper mill adds to the extremely reduced-visibility conditions.

“See, I told you so, it’s that ‘pea-soup fog,’ my father warned. “You can’t even see a foot in front of your car!”

Now that I’m a father, I understand my dad’s concern and will further empathize with those feelings as my teen will supposedly have a driver’s learner’s permit in about two years.

Still, the fog shrouds the area giving it an extra sense of added beauty, especially during the quiet parts of the day when all one can hear is the calm wind, the squirrels along with the neighborhood cats stomping on last autumn’s leaves and perhaps a passing train’s horns blaring in the distance.

While I realize the fog’s danger, it somehow makes me feel safe and secure from the world’s madness of doom and gloom. Whenever I see the fog sitting atop the Chattahoochee or blanketing our local lakes, it reminds me that much is right with the world.