The other day I was in a foreign city and I was trying to get directions at a fuel station. The directions were quite good turn left go two blocks, turn right get in the left lane make a left turn go three blocks and the freeway will be on your right and then go two hundred miles and you will be where you want to go. Easier said than done.

Indeed I did get to the freeway and get on the on ramp and start to accelerate only to hit my brakes and then sit there for 10 minutes. Why? Because what some people call a freeway is not a freeway at all. This so-called freeway was more like a free parking lot, as I sat in traffic for nearly 2 hours trying to get out of the Metroplex.

Eventually I got to the edge of the city and the traffic started going again and I ended up at my destination 200 miles away. The last 160 miles took me only 10 minutes longer than the first 40 miles. It seems like the freeways in the United States of America are more like free parking lots and therefore we should change the name.

For instance if you want to go to the grocery store simply get on the freeway wait until the traffic stops. Stop your car get out click your automatic door locks; beep, beep; hop the fence, buy your groceries and come back to your car and it will still be in the exact same spot.

Folks, these are not freeways these are free parking lots. So when Congress approves the Transportation Bill; they should put some money in there for parking lots, lots and lots of them, because that's what they are. Please consider this in 2006.