1. alley: a narrow street, especially one providing access to the rear of buildings or lots between blocks
2. alleyway: see alley
3. arterial: a through street or highway
4. artery: a major road
5. avenue: a road or street
6. backstreet: a street set off from a main street
7. beltway: a highway passing around an urban area
8. boulevard: a wide road, often divided and/or landscaped
9. branch: a side road
10. bypass: a road passing around a town
11. bystreet: see backstreet
12. byway: see backstreet
13. causeway: a highway, especially one raised across water or wet ground
14. circle: a curving street, especially one intersecting at both ends on another street
15. close: a road closed at one end
16. corniche: a coastal road, especially alongside a cliff face
17. corridor: a local or regional route in the Appalachian region of the United States
18. crossroad: a road that crosses a main road or runs between main roads
19. court: a road closed at one end, especially with a circular end
20. cul-de-sac: see court
21. dead end: a road closed at one end
22. drag: slang pertaining to a road often traveled on as a leisurely pastime (or, as “main drag,” slang referring to the principal road, or one of the principal roads, in a city or town)
23. drive: a public road
24. expressway: a high-speed divided highway with partially or fully controlled access
25. freeway: an expressway with fully controlled access
26. highway: a main road
27. interstate: an expressway that traverses more than one state
28. lane: a road, often narrow (also refers to the portion of a road set apart for a single line of vehicles)
29. Main Street: the principal street of a town
30. parkway: a landscaped road
31. pike: see turnpike
32. place: a short street
33. route: see highway
34. row: a designation sometimes given to roads in place of road, drive, etc.
35. secondary road: a road subordinate to a main road
36. shunpike: a side road used to avoid a main road or a toll road
37. side road: a road that intersects with a main road
38. side street: see “side road”
39. street: a road within a city or town
40. superhighway: an expressway for high-speed traffic
41. thoroughfare: a main road, or a road that intersects with more than one other road
42. through street: see thoroughfare
43. throughway: see expressway
44. turnpike: a main road, especially one on which tolls are or were collected
45. way: a designation sometimes given to roads in place of road, drive, etc.
When my father recounts his childhood surviving the perils of WWII Germany, I am always struck by my good fortune. What if starvation had finally overcome him? What if he had not fled the Soviets, leaving his homeland behind to embrace his fate as a refugee? What if he had not been plucked from the line up and instead been executed along with the others? What if he had not seized the opportunity to emigrate to America? A thousand small detours and intersections on the road map of a life now 84 years long. Innumerable choices by others to act or help or sacrifice in uncharted territory would eventually permit me to grow up amidst the untold privileges of a life in this country.
Of course, millions were not so fortunate which is why I commit my familial fate to memory. I hold my father's legacy, this mythical story I have written in part for myself with limited knowledge of actual events, as a guiding light on the journey. It reminds me how fragile life is, how easy it is to take one's circumstances for granted and squander undeserving gifts granted unselfishly by others, how different the existence of my fellow men and women both near and far remains, and how the context of the world continues to evolve while human behavior remains fundamentally the same. I use my familial legacy as my personal GPS in life, knowing I cannot always direct the itinerary, but I can decide the road I take.
I see living as really about one life -- my own. It begins with me and ends with me. In between is all about the life I live, the choices I make and turns I take given the lot fate (or faith as you may see it) has handed me. And, I try, really try, to live up to the personal mission statement I outlined in an earlier post this month. However, I can honestly say that the road is rough sometimes. Perhaps, really rough and more often than I care to admit. Recently, I found the list of synonyms above for the word road on Daily Writing Tips. I thought of how the road I travel is often best described by these synonyms like how I would prefer to bypass the tough decisions. Or, how a decision leads me directly to a dead end. Or, how I am sure a decision leads me to the superhighway only to find out that I have been directed to a shunpike instead.
Given how hard it is to change, trying to take the right exit off of a roundabout may be the most vexing of all for me. I have every intention of taking a different route, the road less traveled (perhaps, as an ode to Robert Frost?), but miss the turn and drive round and round in circles instead. I end up driving in a rut I have created for myself or, worse yet, completely stuck in the mud with tires spinning. You see, I also lead a life full of what ifs. I have always been great at reading maps but not always so good at choosing the best route to take, if you know what I mean. In particular, my sense of direction stinks.
So, if my familial legacy has taught me anything at all, it's that I can't lament the road not taken. This can quickly turn into a pity party. Rather, I keep driving, get directions from others who know the terrain, and reroute. I can't control the weather or the construction delays or the heavy traffic. So, I try to enjoy the view from the steering wheel no matter what I encounter on the road and make the best of life's journey as it meanders in unexpected ways. Oh, and I carpool. Otherwise, it's a long and lonely haul. Besides, there is room in the car and always someone who needs a ride. All I need to do is pull up, open the passenger door, and offer. We'll see where the road takes us from here. Hop in!
Given how hard it is to change, trying to take the right exit off of a roundabout may be the most vexing of all for me. I have every intention of taking a different route, the road less traveled (perhaps, as an ode to Robert Frost?), but miss the turn and drive round and round in circles instead. I end up driving in a rut I have created for myself or, worse yet, completely stuck in the mud with tires spinning. You see, I also lead a life full of what ifs. I have always been great at reading maps but not always so good at choosing the best route to take, if you know what I mean. In particular, my sense of direction stinks.
So, if my familial legacy has taught me anything at all, it's that I can't lament the road not taken. This can quickly turn into a pity party. Rather, I keep driving, get directions from others who know the terrain, and reroute. I can't control the weather or the construction delays or the heavy traffic. So, I try to enjoy the view from the steering wheel no matter what I encounter on the road and make the best of life's journey as it meanders in unexpected ways. Oh, and I carpool. Otherwise, it's a long and lonely haul. Besides, there is room in the car and always someone who needs a ride. All I need to do is pull up, open the passenger door, and offer. We'll see where the road takes us from here. Hop in!
The Journey
Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.
