Now, I think I even understand those weird MCI commercials of a couple of years ago - the ones with the waif who scampered around on what looked like a dry lake bed, mugging the camera and saying things like "No matter where you are, now you'll be everywhere."
Where I am during rush hour these days is at home in front of my computer in my bathrobe, reading and answering e-mail, checking my voice mail, reviewing stories for that afternoon's edition, looking up published articles in the electronic library, drinking coffee and sending notes to staffers.
By 9 a.m. the traffic has cleared and I'm ready for a quick drive to the office, having already put in an hour or so of productive work. This saves 20 minutes of bumper-to-bumper anxiety on Kalanianaole Highway.
It also means lots of readers get very quick responses to questions and suggestions, even when I'm traveling, since these days a laptop comes with me. Soon, I'll link the laptop to a cellular phone and e-mail can follow me everywhere. This, I suppose, is progress.
Maybe rush hour will someday be history, like carbon paper, three-cent stamps and those little pink message pads.
