Mexican Shortcut

Rules! Rules, rules, rules. Canadian culture is predicated on rules. That works for me. A high-strung, anal-retentive guy like myself is quite comfortable in a society where everybody knows what's right and everybody knows what's wrong - no forgiveness and no apologies. And the rules are enforced in Canada - especially the rules of the road.
Not so much in Mexico. You don't have to drive down a highway in Mexico for long to achieve a healthy dose of sheer terror, and to realize that the 'rules' are clearly open to interpretation. As a passenger in Oscar's truck, I have watched the movie of my life pass before my eyes several times, but miraculously managed to survive. Mexican driving skills are to be equally feared and revered.
We decided to go out for dinner tonight, just him and I - boys night! Oscar's demeanour was clearly 'boy' by comparison to when Clau accompanies us. We decided to go to a restaurant called Vips (pronounced 'beeps' in Spanish). It required a drive almost all the way around the town before arriving near to where we began but across a field. We had gone there before and I remembered the route. Suddenly, Oscar took an abrupt turn into what looked like a farmer's field to me. Oscar's truck has the appearance of a 4X4 but is clearly designed solely for street driving. As we bounced through someone's crops and onto a makeshift dirt 'road', I exclaimed, "What are you doing? This isn't a road!"
"Shortcut!" he said. I could only laugh as the truck struggled against dirt potholes and corn crops, while Oscar steered like a redneck lovin' his off-road. More importantly, I realized that this 'rule' was broken often enough by people, that a makeshift dirt road had actually come into existence!
As soon as the bouncing began, it ceased as he careened back on to a paved road, cut hard left in front of several honking and angry drivers and continued nonchalantly down the road and into the Vips parking lot. We had certainly gotten there much more quickly than before. Oscar turned off the truck engine, looked at me with a grin and reiterated, "See? Shortcut!"
The steak was great, and I wasn't disappointed by the 'shortcut' back.

See you in hell,
Shakes.