Alice turned the dial on the vintage radio searching for music that would calm her down. The retro rock station was in the middle of a Led Zeppelin music marathon. "Stairway to Heaven" had just ended, and a jingle for a local car dealer came on. Alice smacked the dashboard out of frustration. Whenever something amazing was on, be it a television show or block of incredibly beautiful classic rock, commercials interrupted. Advertisements are what's wrong with this country, she thought. If only there was a place where all this crap just didn't exist. Alice wasn't just referring to commercials, but death, sadness, anger, panic attacks. Being human has its fair share of hard knocks, and just getting out of bed can become a hassle when nothing goes right.
Eventually the haze of pizza place ads and the car jingle had subsided, and Alice recognized the melodic thrum of the opening to Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away." This was by far her favorite Led Zeppelin song, and had undoubtedly opened the doorway to her obsession with their music. Alice thought about the lyrics "many times I've gazed along the open road…" Sometimes life worked out like that. A lyric perfectly timed with a mood and the moment. Here she was on the open road, literally, contemplating the more metaphorical road she'd been staring down for some time now. Then she began to feel guilty about her unwillingness to change and travel down a new path. "…many, many men can't see the open road."
Her fingers tensed up on the steering wheel as the music that usually helped her relax, made her feel even worse. It was much darker than when Alice had left the house, and now she wasn't entirely sure where she was. Cars in the other lane seemed to be speeding past, their headlights blinding her. The music felt like it was getting louder, and the lights coming at her as she was surrounded by suffocating blackness caught her off guard. Alice wanted to get off the road and find somewhere she felt safer, so she hit the gas and sped ahead. The road was a straight stretch. There were no exits or turn-offs, and Alice did not trust herself to be on the road any more. Where was she going? Was the music even louder still? "…you really ought to know…" Alice swerved out of sheer panic, and saw bright lights heading for her. She threw her hands in front of her face, anticipating the pain that was about to come. "..I really ought to know…"