I would imagine that back in the day, when my house was on the corner of Valucia and Douglas streets, there was probably a lot of traffic around it like there is now.

Only back then there were probably a lot of horses, horse drawn wagons and horse and buggies going by.

A lot of them probably stopped at my house too, as it was the site of the town of Blue Earth’s livery stable back in those days.

Now that Valucia has become Main Street and Douglas is now 10th Street, things have changed.

Now it is a whole lot of cars, trucks, motorcycles and the only horses that go by are at the tail end of the Giant Days Parade every July.

I imagine a lot of Model T and Model A Fords putt-putting around back in those early days, replacing the horses and probably putting the local livery stable at Valucia and Douglas out of business.

Since the Fleckenstein Brewery was a block away from my house, at the corner of Douglas and Nicollet, maybe a lot of the traffic was headed there.

Pictures in the local Blue Earth history books show Valucia/Main Street filled with lots and lots of vehicles along the blocks of businesses that were downtown.

And with Highway 16 traversing right through the town, and no Interstate 90 yet, and a whole lot of gas stations in the city – as Register writer Kevin Mertens recently wrote about – well, I can see that Blue Earth has always had a lot of traffic.

We still do. And that is a good thing. Good for the economy, for jobs, for businesses and services such as schools and hospital.

I only hope and wish that people slow down, and drive carefully. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see a near collision on one of my short little drives around town during the day.

Most drivers seem to be in a hurry to get to wherever it is that they are driving to. Maybe they are late for work. Maybe they just want to get to wherever they are going as fast as they can.

That includes hardly slowing down at a stop sign much less coming to a complete stop. Or not making a 90-degree turn at an intersection. I was sure a truck making a turn towards me was not going to clear the front left corner of my car, but somehow it did.

Roundabouts are another place where some folks turn into Indy race car drivers and seem to want to zip through as fast as they can. Some drivers look absolutely annoyed if they have to come to a stop and wait for a car to go through before they can enter the roundabout.

I always tell those drivers who seem to want to get somewhere fast to slow down and enjoy the drive and the surroundings and the world around them. Of course, they can’t hear me, because I am in my car.

In today’s world, another item has been added to the driving experience – e-bikes and e-scooters. Lately I have seen those zipping around.

It is a little surprising to see an e-bike racing down Valucia – sorry, I mean Main – street, going as fast or faster as any car. But it is even more unnerving to see an e-scooter doing that same thing.

I worry a car backing out of a parking space won’t see them and then BAM! The scooter hits the back of the car.

But, the e-scooter riders don’t seem worried about that.

Living on Main (Valucia) one sees a lot of cars, motorcycles, bikes, scooters, golf carts, side-by-sides and everything else go by. Some days it is almost like a parade.

Many are following the rules of the road, but, unfortunately, many are not. Roaring motorcycles. Vehicles not stopping. Bikes on the sidewalks instead of the streets. (Once again, I was almost clipped by a passing bike while I was mowing the boulevard at my house. The bikes whizz by and I had my back to them and never knew they were coming.)

There is just hardly a day that goes by without me seeing somebody speeding down the street or blowing through a stop sign.

And yes, I am fully aware that if I go to the Twin Cities or even Mankato I am going to see a whole lot of bad drivers,

You can just file all this ranting under the category of one cranky old guy complaining about the world. That is true. But it is also meant just as a reminder to drive safe and watch out for others. Whether you are in a car, truck or riding a motorcycle, bike or scooter.

Or even riding a horse to the local livery stable.

Stay safe on the roads and highways.

Slow down. It won’t really matter if you get there a minute or two late.

At least you will get there.