Drove in to the studio this morning, a pleasant 19-mile trek from Burk’s Fork Creek to the former dairy barn now known as the Jacksonville Center.

In what has become a habit, tuned XM satellite radio to the Washington, DC, traffic channel and listened to reports of traffic backed up on I-66 Eastbound (average speed at rush hour — 14 mph) and on the outer loop of the Beltway (average speed 12 mph).

Smiled a lot while thinking of friends and colleagues stuck in those traffic jams.

“Too bad,” I thought as I cruised U.S. 221 at 55 mph or so.