Life is a highway

By Dom Cioffi

I had to take a lengthy drive recently — 14 hours to be exact. That’s a long time to sit in a car, no matter how comfortable the seats are.

When my wife, son and I go on a road trip, I generally do all of the driving. I can do a 14-hour trip in one shot as long as I get a nap at about the ninth or 10thhour. That rejuvenates me for the home stretch. I’ve tried to do it straight through with just the gasoline and bathroom breaks (and no naps), but that causes some intense mental and physical exhaustion.

My wife is always happy to drive, but I’m a bit of a control freak. For some reason I feel responsible for our safety and I’m always concerned that some idiot will drift through the median and cause a horrific accident. I know that can happen driving to the store, but long trips have a way of easing drivers into a false sense of security. (I know this from the countless times I’ve almost fallen asleep at the wheel.)

Years ago, I used to rely on my music library to keep me attentive. I would move from one CD to the next in a predetermined order to keep my mind sharp. I also hit the caffeine hard. If it was wintertime, I guzzled hot coffee; in the summer, I tended to rely on soda.

I used this approach effectively for years. And then, at some point, someone gave me an audiobook. I was reluctant to listen at first, but ultimately, I gave it a shot. That one experience completely revolutionized my driving tactics.

I found audiobooks to be the perfect driving companion for two important reasons:

The first was that the activity of listening to someone read a story (as long as it’s interesting), has a way of keeping your brain functioning at a high level. Unlike music, which can lull you into sleepiness, audiobooks force you to pay attention.

The second reason that listening to a book is conducive to a better driving experience is its ability to rip through time quickly. You can knock off six hours of driving and not realize it if you have a good book keeping your attention.

For these reasons, I have completely switched from music to the spoken word whenever I travel. I say “spoken word” because in the last couple of years I’ve actually segued from audiobooks into podcasts.

The sheer mass of free podcasts available at this point is astonishing. It doesn’t matter what subjects you find interesting, I guarantee you someone is podcasting about it at length. And whoever is podcasting, undoubtedly has great guests on to enhance the experience.

Whether it’s politics, sports, outer space, or the belief that you’re an animal trapped in a human body, there’s a person out there podcasting valuable and interesting information that you’ll want to hear. Some of my favorite shows include “The Joe Rogan Experience” (which is the most popular podcast in the world), “Making Sense with Sam Harris,” and “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.”

And then there’s the podcast mini-series. These are the real listening gems. Basically, these are episodic series that delve into one topic for a limited time – almost like a documentary broken into several parts.

I’ve fallen in love with this format – and so have millions of other people based on the listening numbers. Some of the more famous examples of these series are “Serial” and “S-Town,” both of which were amazing to listen to. I’ve also discovered a few others that have completely mesmerized me. These include “The Shrink Next Door,” “Guru,” “Rabbit Hole,” and “Wind of Change.”

Needless to say, I spent the entire 14-hour drive (28 hours both ways) gobbling up podcasts. And you know what? I barely needed any caffeine to keep me alert.

You would think a motion picture, which basically encompasses everything a podcast has plus visuals, would have a much easier time telling a story. But in truth, the visuals can sometimes ruin what your imagination handles perfectly well.

This week’s film, “Tesla,” is a great example.

Starring Ethan Hawke as the pioneering inventor, “Tesla” is a film that takes strange chances in its approach to storytelling. Normally, I’m a fan of unique undertakings but this time I had difficulty buying into director Michael Almereyda’s eccentric vision, even though the main character, in reality, was as eccentric as they come.

“Tesla” (released on Amazon Prime) is an interesting biopic that highlights a very important historical character. If you can get past the odd delivery, you may actually enjoy it.

A quirky “C” for “Tesla.”

Got a question or comment for Dom? You can email him at moviediary@att.net.