Everyplace that I have lived there have been a few towns that “you have to be from around here to know how to pronounce that.” In Montana, they pronounce their town Valier different than is done in France. Say Helena like the woman’s name is pronounced and they’ll laugh at you. And, in the southern parts of the state they pronounce the last name of former Vice President Dick Cheney like it is pronounced in Wyoming – no long a’s in that name, say it like it has a double e and you may or not be pronouncing it correctly, but you’ll sound like a local, especially if you are in Gillette, which by the way is pronounced the same as the razor company.

In Nebraska, there’s Kearney, and in Idaho the Owyhee Mountains are named after the state of Hawaii, but pronounced with a distinctly Idaho flavor (spelling sometimes has its regional variations as well. Like Montanans, we here in South Dakota have our own distinct way of pronouncing our capital city. When someone mispronounces it, we know that they’re from out of state. For most of us living here, we are happy to have the seat of government located well off of the Interstate Highway and for those of use who live west river, we prefer to have the governor’s home east river, but not too far East, and you don’t get much closer to the river than Pierre. For those of us in Rapid City it is an appropriate distance away. It is an easy 2½-hour drive on good roads. Except, like everyone else who doesn’t live in Mountain time, they don’t know what time it is over there, so you have to allow 3½ hours to get there. On the other hand, you can drive home in 1½ hours without getting a speeding ticket. It is a good distance for a meeting. Five hours of driving is just right for clearing your head and making sure you are ready for what is going to happen next.

I believe that driving on two lane highways is essential to creative thought. People who drive on freeways too often start to think that driving is work. If driving is work, then a five-hour drive and a five-hour meeting in the same day puts you on overtime. The truth is that it is a very pleasant way to spend a day (except for the meeting part, which is five hours to accomplish what may be one hour’s worth of real work). Anyway, that’s my plan for today.

There’s lots to check out on the way. I’m not sure whether the meadowlarks are back from their winter vacation. I haven’t heard any yet this year, so I’ll be listening and looking as I go. Basically believing that government operates best without my participation except for voting, I haven’t been up to Pierre since last summer, when the water was high and the flooding was the biggest news in town. I’ll be interested to see what has and what has not recovered since the flood. What do you want to bet they’ve figured out how to get all those lawyers out playing golf by now?

The weather has been good and the calves are old enough to be kicking up their heels. There wasn’t much snow this winter, so I doubt that the winter wheat is showing any green, but I like to look at the fields all the same.

In case you haven’t figured out, I’ll be going over to Wall and then up the regular highway. Taking the Interstate to Vivian and then heading up on the four-lane is fine for legislators, lawyers and lobbyists, but not my preferred cup of tea. If I had a little more time, I might go to Sturgis and drive highway 34, which is another great way to get there. I’m thinking that not too many legislators, lawyers and lobbyists know where Bridger is and I’m thinking that the folks at Bridger probably prefer it that way.

OK, so I have probably offended all of the legislators, lawyers and lobbyists who are reading my blog by now. However, according to Google analytics, if the percentage of lawyers who read my blog is the same as the percentage of lawyers in the United States, only 2 tenths of one lawyer read my blog on a daily basis. Throwing in an occasional complaint or dig is not likely to increase my readership among legislators, lawyers and lobbyists.

For me, the drive really is the part of the day toward which I am looking forward. The imagination requires unstructured time. It isn’t that I don’t have to think while driving. It takes concentration and attention to navigate the miles safely. But the thinking is different than my usual. Driving is different from sitting at my desk in front of a computer. It is different from listening carefully to what someone else needs to say. It is different from solving office problems, laying out the newsletter, planning worship, supervising staff. And different is good. At 3M, a corporation known for innovation and imagination, engineers are expected to engage in a minimum of one unstructured hour each day. Some walk about the sprawling campus. Some play ping-pong. Some take a nap. Some work on independent projects. What they know about human beings and their brains is that the best ideas often come as a flash of inspiration when the person is engaged in something entirely different from work. Some of my best ideas have come to me in the shower, or when I am in bed but not sleeping. More than a few of my better sermons are products of driving alone across empty spaces.

So I am off to a town I know how to pronounce by way of a route that I know well. The GPS is not required and my destination is less than a tank of gas away. The weather is in that perfect niche where you don’t need the heater and you don’t need the air conditioner. And I’ll be home for supper. Life is good. And Saturday promises another lovely drive up to Eagle Butte. Two trips in one week, not bad for a guy who has a desk job.

Who knows, maybe I’ll think up a topic or two for future blogs while I’m driving.

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