7/23/2002: Potatoes on Tokyo highway

[Joe]

I can easily see how the driver managed to lose his cargo of spuds. If I suddenly encountered a bunch of cars on the <b>wrong side of the freeway</b> I might indeed lose a stray potato or two while I tried to dodge everyone.

Once near Sacramento I was driving under I-5 and some poor trucker had taken an offramp at a tad over the safe speed, dispersing an even coating of tomatoes on the rural highway I was using. I approached the flipped trailers, cop cars and huge red area on the road with great caution, slowing to almost a complete stop, until a CHP person waved me through the mess. I thought they had to be kidding, most of the 'maters weren't even broken yet, you want me to drive through them? They're four inches deep! Yep, they did, and I did, and while I didn't get the honor of "first tracks" I think I was about third or fourth through the disaster area. Squishorama, even at <10mph. All they need is a truckload of lettuce, I thought, and a tanker of ranch dressing and we would have had lunch for ten thousand.