3 November, 2020: Adverse Camber

 Along the motorway from London to Bristol, there were a number of signs warning of “Adverse Camber.”

I knew what they were trying to tell me. I knew that in the US we give the same warning with a little pictogram of a truck threatening to tip over.

The Brits do not require a pictogram. Everyone knows what “Adverse Camber” means. Impressive.

What I could not dredge up, for the life of me, was the phrase we would use in America without recourse to the pictogram. What the heck do WE call it?

I kept thinking about this place on I-5 in Southern Oregon, where the road makes a sharp turn, and all the signs say “SLOW,” “DANGER,” “25 MPH,” but I couldn’t think of how they said, “This corner is banked the wrong way and might dump you straight into the Umpqua River, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

I mean, I knew they didn’t say that, but what’s the American phrase for “Adverse Camber?” Let me know, if you know. I’m still wracking.

There’s a certain level of fatigue where everything becomes very Profound to me, and Adverse Camber got its moment of glory yesterday. I thought: it’s a metaphor! About the election! We have to Take It Slow the next few days. Don’t be in a hurry! Don’t topple into the river, or slam into the cliff side. Just navigate with caution.

Easier said than done. Everybody wants it over with. Everybody knows it won’t be over with quickly.

I was particularly struck with two articles detailing How to Get Through the Next Few Days. Laura Rosenberger’s piece in the New York Times listed seven ways to do so, and was calming, in its way: Trust in our electoral system: Be patient and expect some messiness and delay. Don’t spread misinformation or panic. Check trusted sources like your state elections board.

The one in Axios, by Jim VandeHei, listed eight ways, and I was doing okay until we got to the last one:

8. Brace yourself for 78 days of drama and turmoil from Nov. 4 through the inauguration....

What's next: The nation is headed into a firestorm.

On the one hand, this is a powerful display of expectation-lowering, which is not necessarily a bad thing. On the other, I felt a moment of panic, maybe over the 78 days, maybe over the fire imagery, maybe over Everything. And “don’t panic” is one of the seven ways.

So I think I’ll stick with Ms. Rosenberger for now. Here’s to all y’all. One way or seven others, we’re going to get through this time!