I'LL TAKE TWO SLUGS, PLEASE.

My grandparents are four of the people that I cherish most in the world, and even though three of them are no longer with us, the lessons they taught still remain in my mind. My Grandma P. was someone who wanted to make sure we were safe at all times. When the grandkids got old enough to drive her advice was, "As soon as you get in the car, LOCK YOUR DOORS." Then she would add, "Don't let anyone into your car...not anyone with white feet, black feet, purple feet, orange feet, blue feet, green feet..." That same rule applied if someone were to come to our door when we were home alone.

The East Coast really changes a person, though. We were a little nervous to start our commutes to work, but we didn't think they could possibly be too bad. We started our first morning leaving the house at 6:45 a.m. I walked into work at 8:20, and Skyler didn't arrive until 9:00. Alright. That didn't go so well, so the next day we tried leaving at 6:15 a.m. Yup, I still walked in at 8:20, and Skyler arrived around 9:00. We changed up our routes and NOTHING worked. This is the sight we saw going to work AND coming home.

This wall-to-wall traffic is what we were stuck in everyday for 2 hours. We couldn't stand it for even three days, and decided to try something we never thought we would ever do...Slugging.

Slugging is pretty much organized hitch-hiking, and its been one of D.C.'s ways of commuting since 1971. You're pretty much using this person so you can get in the High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes (HOV), and they are using you for a ride. It works out great! No money is ever exchanged, and there are rules that every slug and driver abides by. I'll detail those later.

Our morning now consists of this lovely routine:

1) Wake up at 5:40 a.m.

2) Leave the house at 6:45 a.m.

3) Arrive at the Potomac Mills Parking Lot at 7:00 a.m.

4) Pick up a complete and total stranger, allowing them to sit in the back seat.

5) Get in the HOV lanes since we now have 3 people in our car! Wahoo!

6) Watch all the people in the "normal" lanes next to us with their stop-and-go traffic.

7) Drive for about 25 minutes on I-95 North/I-395 N and arrive at the Pentagon around 7:30 a.m.

8) Drop Skyler and our "slug" off at the Pentagon.

9) Skyler proceeds to take a 10 minute metro ride into D.C.

10) I get back on the highway and drive about 6 minutes back to my school, arriving around 7:40 a.m.

FABULOUS!! This arrangement is so much better than taking 2 hours to get to work.

On the way home Skyler takes the train into Woodbridge. It has turned out to be a rather relaxing ride for him. I drive back to the Pentagon (even though it's in the opposite direction that I have to go) just to pick up two brand new people. I drop them off at the same parking lot we started off our morning at, and then I go on my merry way! Picking up the "slugs" saves me AT LEAST an hour on the road. Thankfully, most of the people who slug are in the military or high up executives, so they seem pretty trustworthy. :)

And now...the proper way to slug:

1) Slugs will not talk to the driver, unless the driver initiates the conversation.

2) Slugs & Drivers will not carry on cell phone conversations, smoke, or eat while in the car.

3) Slugs will not ask to change the radio station or adjust the temperature in the car.

4) Slugs wait in an orderly line, understanding that this is a first-come, first-served system.

Each day, as we welcome someone new to our car, I have to stop and think, "what would Grandma have to say about this?"