A Slice of Life

My unintentional trips to Waddy
Posted: 4/26/2010

By James Mulcahy

It is way too easy to miss exit 35 as you're headed east on I-64 at night. Everyone I've asked has at least one time missed the exit and thus has had to drive to Waddy to turn around.

Why is that?

I know my study of this oddity is hardly scientific. I realize that my query is but a smattering of the population, so the results are inconclusive at best.

Still, this exit seems to make itself invisible after dark, only to laugh as you drive by and slap your forehead when you realize what just happened.

It seems sufficiently lit, so what is the problem? Are drivers lulled to semi-consciousness in the 3-mile stretch between the two Shelbyville exits? Or is it something more devious? Perhaps the exit is simply evil, possessed by an interstate demon who will stop at nothing to make us miss our appointed rounds. I tend to lean toward a conspiracy by Flying J to draw in more customers.

All of this has little to do with anything truly important, but allows me to segue into the following list, which made me chuckle. Called "Philosophy of Ambiguity," these came from Erin Reid, who writes Equine Perspectives for Shelby County Life.

-- If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why are there still monkeys and apes?

-- Santa is jolly because he knows where all the bad girls live.

-- I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where are the self-help books?" She said it would defeat the purpose to tell me.

-- What if there were no hypothetical questions?

-- If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?

-- Is there another word for "synonym"?

-- Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?

-- What do you do if you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

-- Would a fly without wings be a "walk"?

-- If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

-- Why do they put Braille on drive-thru bank machines?

-- What was the best thing before sliced bread?

-- How is it possible to have a Civil War?

-- If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?

-- If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

-- Whose cruel idea was it for the word "lisp" to have an "s"?

-- Can an atheist get insurance against acts of God?

Now let me add my own:

-- Why is the word "abbreviation" so long?

-- Who determined that Ky. 53 and Ky. 55 should crisscross and overlap through Shelbyville, then go off in different directions?

Whoa! Did I just miss my exit?