the last ride

These are exciting times. And though the conventional wisdom is that December is stress central, I feel it to be the opposite. When the weather outside is delightful (on a good spring, summer or fall day), I’m compelled to take note. So beautiful! Have to enjoy it. Yes, really – it deserves my full attention!

But on days like today? No pressure! It’s gray and bitter cold. Whatever I do outdoors is bonus points. Like eating yesterday’s brussel sprouts. Makes me feel proud: despite the temptation to be lethargic and eat junk, I moved and ate leftover veggies!

So I biked to work today, even though I didn’t have to. If I had put away the darn cycle for the winter, everyone would have understood. But at the last minute I changed my mind. The semester ends this week and I will finish it off with cycling to and from work. Yeah!

Did I mention that it was gray?





No photoshop color correction on that one. Indeed, by afternoon, the clouds are thick enough to obliterate any tones of gold. We are part of one big gray canvas of sameness.

But exhilarating!

And speaking of excitement, I must mention the early morning car trip to my daughter’s place (she lives on the other side of town) so that I could take her to the airport. When we purchased the holiday tree a few days back, I left it on the roof of my red Ford Escort. I rarely drive the thing and besides, I’m going out of town for nearly two week. As are my daughters. We’ll put up the tree when we reconvene in Madison in the week of Christmas.

But life throws you interesting punches and one such punch is my limping computer, which required a car trip (with tree on top) to the mall last night. And now, here I am this morning, driving my daughter to the garage where she is leaving her car for repairs and then from there, to the airport.

In the middle of the very busy, fast moving Stoughton Road, the twine holding down the tree displays an impish desire to let loose. Or something. Animated in chatter with daughter, I do not notice until I glance at the mirror and see the tree slipping down the hatch in the back.

Oh dear.

I pull over and do some makeshift tugging and tightening. One minute later it starts slipping again. I tug and tighten. We move forward, it slips anyway. We stop, etc. etc.

We limp along this way to the airport and we hold on tight to the twine inside thinking that at least we’ll not let the tree roll  freely on the road.

The ride back from the airport is equally exciting, especially since now I am holding on to the twine and driving and wishing I were the type who prayed in stressful times. It would at the very least take my mind off the image of a tree bouncing off and doing damage. I teach Torts, after all. I know too much about personal injury cases.

You may think I am inept, as I let the tree hang loose in this way. Not so. It's because the cord is too short and on this particular car, there aren’t many trustworthy parts where you can fasten something and rest assured that the cord and car part wont break off and go spinning into space. You have to remember that the entire rear bumper and good part of the front one are held up by tape.

But, I worry too much. After all, I'm holding on to the twine and at worst, the tree will have been knocked about in an Isadora Duncan sort of way.

In the end I make it home with tree trunk pointing wickedly into the air, but with the rest still remaining more or less attached to the car.

Can you see why I prefer biking? (Though do note though that yesterday’s ripples along the shore are today’s ice. Brrr...)





Quick clarification: The last photo suggests we are have snow. Not so. What you’re seeing is the icy stuff that accumulates at the shoreline. Our ground is frozen, but bare.

Tomorrow, though, things may look quite different.