On Days After Rain

 

Friday, 2/3/23

We got a break from the rain this week, but it's been cold, for So Cal- 46 degrees this morning. It's  sunny and clear, but the temps are hanging in the 60's. Buddy the Cat is back to being his noisy self, and I'm much grateful for that.  I got a little work done on the stone.

 

I did not have great ambitions on this project, but I like how it's turning out.  After the Aerodyne project I wanted an easy, free form, improvisational exercise, sort of make-it-up-as-I-go-along. 

  

I wanted a break after taking exact measurements, and working to a plan.  

 

 

 

I'm pleased with the flower-like form that's emerging from this odd wedge of stone, but between the crappy weather, and my dull, flat humor, the project is lurching along in starts and stalls. Whether you plan it all ahead, or plan it as you go, you still gotta' plan. Can't get anywhere if you don't know where you want to go. So, I'm taking some long sit-and-stare sessions before chowing into this much farther.

I just nuked several paragraphs of dark, and melancholy musings about death, the purpose of Life, and the nature of cyber friendships. VanderLeun is gone. We have all been very fortunate to have been a part of the event that was American Digest. But it's over. The community will dissolve in time. Some of us will stay in touch in the way we do with our on-line friends. We'll lose touch with others. That's just how it goes. I do not want to lose touch with the group, but I'm not looking to replace the time I spent there with another site, another host, another community. Truth to tell, I am sick of internet, and bone weary of the passing world. I'm going to tune out, and turn to other things.

 Remember books? Odd how things get started. A couple weeks back I had to take Mary to Kaiser for cataract surgery. It  meant several hours sitting and waiting in the truck, or somewhere on the Kaiser campus. No fun.  I got the great idea that a book would be just the thing. Haven't read one in a while. On my bookshelf I had a new, unopened, and unabridged copy of The Chronicles of Narnia. All the books in one big volume. I had never read them. Why not?

The books have been a blessing during this episode of low spirits. Lewis is an easy read. There is depth enough to the stories to keep them from becoming idle entertainment, but you don't need to do a line by line exegesis on them to suss out the hidden meanings. And I love his absolutely horrid English brats. 

This is reading for escape; escape is fine with me right now.  I remember when I was in the fifth grade, devouring Tom Swift Junior books, and getting completely absorbed into that science fiction world that surely I'd live to see by the time I was eighteen. I really wish I'd have found the  Chronicles of Narnia back then.  

And right now? Believe me, if could walk through a gateway into Narnia... but of course, I'm much too old for that. Once you reach a certain age you can no longer cross through the portals.  And in much the same way, once you reach a certain age you can delight in the stories, appreciate them from many points and perspectives, but you can't be absorbed into the world of Narnia in the way you could when you were crossing the line between single, and double digit birthdays.  There is no going back, and no going through. Even so, I count myself fortunate that I can still feel a little wistful about it. The fires aren't out just yet.

Sunday, 2/5/23

Today started cold, wet, and rainy. And being the first Sunday of the month it was Cyclone Coaster day.  February is "Bring a Lady" for the monthly antique and classic ride. Everyone brings out their best girls' bike for the ride. I was going to bring the 1956 Schwinn Starlet.

 But like I said, it was cold and raining, so I brought the 1961 Rat bike instead.

 The rain let up before I got to the freeway. It was cold and crappy when I got to Long Beach, but I dressed for the cold. I always go down early, and park in Belmont shore, a couple of miles away from  where we meet up for the ride. I found a parking place (not always easy) Got the truck locked, and rolled down Bayshore to take a pit stop before hitting the bike path. Path was empty. I hit a wake n' bake and took a quiet dreamy cruise in the early morning haze.

By the time I reached the meet up, the sun was out. Penny, Troy, Russ, and Dave were all there. All in all, some  twenty, or thirty folks showed up for the event. By the time we rolled it was too warm for the heavy coat.  By the time we stopped for lunch it was like this.

(HT Penny for the pic)

This made for a wonderful day. But no Cyclone Coaster ride is complete for us until we make our last stop on the bike path for an ice cream at the Batman catering truck. Between the time that we ordered our ice cream, and finished the cones the wind rose up sharp, cold, and stiff.

Now wind can be your best friend or a nasty adversary on a bike ride. It depends entirely on which way the wind is blowing, relative to one's direction of travel. Riding with a tail wind is one of those sweet little pleasures that make life worth living.  Once you're at speed with the wind the ride is effortless and quiet. The air around you is so still you could light a smoke with a paper match. It feels like flying. I had about three and a half miles of it, and it was good. Traffic going home was light and fast.

Mary had pork and onion stew on the stove when I got home. She served it up in sourdough bread bowls. After dinner, a hot shower, and a bite on the bong, I sat in the green chair with a cup of hot coffee, and the book. Buddy the Cat hopped up in my lap to read along. There is much to be grateful for.