Poolside Chats: Pt3.

Naples is a nice "little" city. that has traffic like a big city. (This from a guy used to driving the 401!). Many of the roads have four lanes in each direction and the speed limit within the city is 45mph, miles not kilometers. I actually looked up the population and was amazed to find hat the year round population was a mere 25,000 or so, with a seaonal peak of about one third of a million (less than the city I live in!). Most of the drivers seem to ignore the speed limit and just drive at whatever speed they want, usually closer to 60mph than 45mph. Quite apart from that they tailgate, hop lanes and seem totally averse to signalling. Hardly a day went by without witnessing at least one collision. Was this just me getting a little older ? However, I was doing my laps in the pool one day, eavesdropping as I always do, (if I'm close enough to hear) when I overheard two fifty-ish men talking poolside about local traffic conditions.
Man # 1: "Roads here are a real hazard, aren't they? I'm a little nervous on these roads."
Man # 2: "I can't believe the speed they drive at. No signals, changing lanes without warning,cut you off regularly. I think I've seen an accident every day I've been here."
"Hey!" I chipped in as I swam by, "I just thought it was just me getting old."
"Hell no," man one answered, "and we're used to crazy drivers, we're from Chicago!"
I felt much better that it wasn't just 'old fogiism!
 
I got to know them over the next weeks while lazing around the pool, so when I found them in animated conversation while they were sitting sunning themselves I thought I'd better chip in.  
"Hey, what's up?" I smiled."You guys seem a little worked up."
"We're both managers in a steel works, different companies so we're comparing problems we have to deal with. One of our biggest problems is serious accidents in the line workers usually due to intoxication on the job. It's a huge problem and likely to become greater now that marijuana products will be more available. "
We had discussed the legalization of marijuana in Canada and they were well aware it would be coming their way soon.
"Yes, " said Steelman 2. "We've had some really horrible accidents. We had a woman decapitated recently. Guys roll in after their lunch stoned out of their mind but unless it's pretty obvious we can't do much about it. They have a strong Union and they usually succeed in curtailing any disciplinary action except in the most outrageous cases. Soon they'll be rolling in with a prescription for Medical marijuana from their doctor demanding they need to smoke a joint on the job."
"Ah well," said Steelman 1, " I'm retired this year with all my medical benefits. To tell you the truth, I would have retired a couple of years ago if it wasn't for my medical plan. The only problem is my wife is a few years younger than I am and she can't retire yet or she would lose her medical benefits and that's a big thing.. Looks like I am going to be spending the winters down here by myself a lot of the time, while she's freezing in Chicago."
"So you are down here by yourself?"
"Yes, we bought a condo here last year and we don't want to leave it empty. She comes down here for a long weekday, or sometimes four or five days, whenever she can get away but then she has to get back to work. Just last week her flight back was cancelled so she had to get a regular flight back, which set us back $600 instead of the $199 it usually cost on sale, but she had to get back to work! Once she retires we'll probably move down here permanently." 
"That's nice."
"Yes," He pulled a face, "but June, July and August are hell here, so we will have to experience a summer here before we make the final decision to move."
"Tough!" I said, only slightly sarcastically, but then I was going home to the arctic temperatures the next day!
The trip home was uneventful apart from the lengthy trip from Pearson International to the domestic flights which must have been over a mile, for the forty minute flight to London. Counting the layover time, I could easily have driven the distance in half the time!