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The Song, Drive by the Cars
A Song That Will Forever Hold a Special Spot in My Heart.
Towards the end of July 1984, I heard and watched the video of the song “Drive” by the Cars. I happened to be in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that day, enjoying my day off. I was returning to Banff, Alberta, when I stopped into a Gentleman’s Club.
The only reason for the stop there was that it happened to be the only stop that served alcohol before heading out of Calgary. The spot did not have any stage shows that evening but had a popular American cable channel, MTV, on the big screen. The last song played before I left was “Drive” by the Cars.
This song will forever resonate with me due to what I experienced later that night. With Banff, located approximately one and a half hours drive from Calgary northward, I left just after 9:30 p.m., which meant it was just starting to get dark.
It was pitch black when I was well out of Calgary and into the mountains. The drive is through a single lane in either direction with no lighting. So, only the headlights to guide me through the mountainous road.
The single beer that I had enjoyed earlier seemed to be getting to me. I felt fatigued, and nodding off and on, it appeared. I knew I was only about forty-five minutes away from my destination; therefore, I fought this urge to close my eyes and kept driving.
It was a foolish choice on my part since the drive involved having the mountain range literally meters away on my left and the Bow River meters away on my right.
I tried focusing my eyes on the dividing line on the highway and the mountains on the left to guide me home. Suddenly, before I knew it, I stared straight at the Bow River with a quick left bend ahead of me. I had to quickly turn the steering wheel to the left before I would be gasping for my last breath or be a goner for sure.
After escaping this tight left turn, I was able to slow down and eventually reach a rest stop just up ahead. At this point, my heart was racing a million miles a minute. I knew I could not sit there much longer and had to complete my journey back home…
