To The Mattresses

The Baltimore Washington Parkway is a 34-mile stretch of road that connects the nation's capital to the nearby city of Baltimore.  I've traveled this road north and south between the two cities many a time in the 30 years I've lived in the DC area.  I'm originally from the Baltimore area so there's always a reason to be heading in one direction or the other.

This afternoon I found myself driving north on the parkway to take a friend to the airport. Traffic was slow in the usual places and for the most part, it was the usual scenery that I've come to know.  But then I spotted a truck pulled over on the side of the road.  That's not so odd really; it was the load of 5 mattresses stuffed standing up in the back of a white pickup truck that caught my eye. 

Okay, maybe 5 mattresses stuffed standing up in a truck isn't that unusual.  On its own, perhaps it's not.  But then as I returned to my home after the airport drop-off I spotted another truck, this one blue in color, with a load of 7 mattresses, maybe 8, stacked one on top of the other.  That's when my brains started churning.  Were these two sightings related in any way?  Where were all these mattresses going?

I continued on my way thinking about the hazards of the mattress stack.  The winds of yesterday have died down but I have to assume the breeze that is blowing could certainly create some sort of havoc.

Further down the road, about 25 minutes away from my home, I noted a car up ahead.  Tied tight on the roof were a mattress and a box spring.  


Seventy miles of driving.  Fourteen mattresses.  I'm not sure what it all means, but I'm wondering if there isn't a production of The Princess and the Pea somewhere nearby.  Or could it be that there is a helluva sale going on that I don't know about?