22 SEP 06: BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Thursday was another beautifully sunny day in Columbus - and that was the problem. I had to drive east to get to work, at about 7:45 a.m. That's right after sunrise - and part of me wanted to drive west around the entire world instead.

With the sun rising at about 7:30 ET, the morning rush hour brings what the late Atlanta traffic reporter Keith Kalland called the "sunshine slowdown." And with the autumnal equinox coming tonight around midnight ET, it's even worse - as the sun rises directly in the east, not slightly north or south. The people who plotted downtown Columbus long ago actually had their directions right.

My first reminder of this actually came Tuesday evening. I took an evening jog shortly after 7:00 p.m. - and the sunshine slowdown was in the other direction, as I ran due west. I should have pulled my sunglasses out of my car at the start, to deal with this. But I'm a guy - so I don't run with a map, either.

The bright sunset especially caused a challenge when my running course took me across the Dillingham Street Bridge. I could barely see in front of my feet - and I felt like I was truly having a "Stevie Wonder moment."

"Limited visibility!" I called out to two people I passed while jogging on the Dillingham Street Bridge sidewalk. With my head down due to the sun, I had enough vision in front of me to see those people standing at the side. I suppose I could have joined them - but running in place for 20 minutes until the sun sets would look silly.

But as soon as I'd crossed the Dillngham Street Bridge and Railroad Street in Phenix City, I was too tired to run and dropped to a walk. Yes, I did it to myself - a case of "psunshine psych-out."

A couple of things are different, of course, when it comes to driving into the sun. My sunglasses are on. My car visor is down. And I'm smart enough to stuff the car insurance and registration cards in the passenger side visor, so they don't fall down nearly as often.

Yet a due-east sun still can be challenging for a morning driver, even with several kinds of shades. Enough glare can reflect from a street to slow me down. And once I feel my way to a traffic light, I start playing "peek-a-boo" - to see the signal without also seeing sunspots.

One recent morning, I was eastbound at an intersection with two traffic signals. I focused intently on the right one, waiting for it to turn to green - and almost never noticed the other one had changed, so I could make the left turn I wanted to make all along.

It's at a season like this when I'm especially thankful to the courteous drivers who leave their lights on while heading away from the sun. It helps avoid wrecks with drivers like me, who face the sunshine slowdown. They're like little NASA satellites, trying to reach Pluto to see if it's really a planet.

Yes, I know - the Southern sunshine has its advantages. For instance, it helps me save money on laundry day. My hard-to-dry items go atop the back seat of the car - and in a few weeks, I save enough quarters for a package of cookies at the vending machine.

And yes, I know - I'll be longing for that sunshine come January. But then, the morning drive will be a bit more challenging. Not only will the sun rise around 7:45 a.m., but I may have bits of unremovable ice on my windshield. It's a little bit of Aspen, Colorado - and that's more than enough for me.

So please be patient, if you're driving around me between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning right now. I'm not really a "senior citizen" yet. I'm merely practicing for it - but at least I think of you enough to use my turn signals.

OVERHEARD OVER HERE: Several men were in a business office Thursday, talking about the next Atlanta Falcons game.

"Abraham is questionable. Hartwell is questionable...."

"And the signing of Morten Andersen is VERY questionable."

The Thursday news may have raised some questions as well:

+ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a list of Georgia city manager salaries. The LaGrange City Manager earns more than $140,000 a year -- at least $25,000 more than Columbus's Isaiah Hugley. Hugley's salary was NOT published, perhaps to save the city some embarrassment....

(In fact, the city managers in Valdosta and some Atlanta suburbs are paid more than Isaiah Hugley - and even paid more than Governor Perdue. So will this quiet the complaints about Mr. Hugley's recent raise? Or do the critics want his pay tied to the price of gasoline?)

+ WRBL reported the Georgia Department of Revenue has ordered cab companies to charge sales tax on every ride. The "taxi tax" was not enforced since the 1940's -- which probably will inspire bills to expand next summer's sales tax holiday from four days to four years.

(But wait, there's more! Taxi companies have to pay retroactive sales taxes, all the way back to the forties! You wondered how Governor Perdue was going to fulfill that promise about ending income taxes for older people....)

+ The Georgia Ethics Commission ruled the Mark Taylor campaign can spend $35,000 in donations from Carl Gregory car dealers for now. At this point in the race, of course, all campaign donations are under a 60-day warranty.

+ The Washington political satire group "The Capitol Steps" performed in Opelika. I wish I could have seen what they did with this week's United Nations events -- maybe like having the President of Iran try to convert the President of Venezuela to Islam.

+ WLGA "CW-66" was off the air for hours during the afternoon and evening, showing only a test pattern. Well, I'm presuming that's what happened. Either that, or it was the most bizarre info-mercial for "Streambox Transport" I've ever seen.

(Oh no - do you think the viewers of Pastor Leroy Jenkins poured their vials of "miracle water" on the WLGA tower, trying to get him back on the air?)

+ Georgia Tech was victorious over Virginia in college football 24-7. But you couldn't hear the game on Columbus radio - because the station which used to carry the Yellowjackets has become "Viva 1460 en Espanol" since last season. Maybe I should check there this weekend, for Columbus State women's soccer games....

+ Troup County spanked Spencer in high school football 49-25. They played at McClung Memorial Stadium, and I could hear the Spencer band from the Chattahoochee Promenade about eight blocks away. If they didn't have Riverfest in the Historic District, someone there might have called police about a noise ordinance violation.

+ Instant Message to the RiverCenter: Please tell whoever does your TV commercials to listen to Georgia Public Broadcasting. The woman on radio says opera singer Frederica "von STAH-duh" is appearing next weekend. Your TV voice incorrectly says "von STAHD." Opera divas have canceled shows over things like that.

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