Truckin' (The Grateful Dead)

"What a long strange trip it's been" indeed - where to begin?!?

When last we left our She-ra, she was getting ready to drive a 10 ft. rental truck across state lines - au contraire. Melanie came with me in an attempt to exchange the larger one we used for Mari's move for smaller, but they didn't have a 10 ft. in stock so we had to keep the 16 ft. - I was trying not to freak out, and decided to paraphrase my standard adage: One Mile At a Time...

We were blessed from the start, as Mel found a small silver dragonfly charm in the cupholder (now on a chain around my neck)... which made me decide to wear my new silver dragonfly earrings from Stephen (a birthday gift Melanie had brought up) - then later in the journey we were stopped at a gas station and Melanie laughed and said, "wait until you see what's on the side of the U-Haul truck pulling out". It was the logo pictured above - thanks, Dave (and maybe now... thanks, mom... since her passing date is the same as his, seven years later)...

After the first 30 minutes of driving, I was really enjoying it... and teased that I was going to go back to school to learn to be a truck driver - instead of Rosie the Riveter I'd be Susie the Trucker... which Mel amended to Susie the Mothertrucker... :-)

We had quite a Road Buddy adventure ("isn't that what you would call it?"), logging 686 miles in 15 hours, arriving home about 4 a.m. Tuesday - I am grateful for her company, her conversation and her ability to tune in radio stations with strong signals *and* playing MKOM (My Kind of Music). Long live Diet Dr. Pepper and Sun Chips, Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino and Hostess Coconut Crumb Mini Donuts - Cracker Barrel and Red Lobster rock too!

Since returning home, I've kept busy unloading the truck, moving things around from room to room, straightening and cleaning, getting Eric packed up to return to college, relocating Rob's stuff into Eric's vacant room, etc. - I've been on a mission to de-bachelorize this house!

Mom's belongings are being incorporated into my own eclectic design plan and things look really good - I went to church yesterday, spent the afternoon listening to Michael Stock's show and catching up on some e-mail... and it feels nice to be getting back into a routine...

SONG: Truckin' by The Grateful Dead

BOOK: Everything You Will Ever Need To Know To Start Driving A Big Truck Or How I Became A Professional Tourist by Steve Richards

POEM: Keys by Nancy Henry

When things got hard

I used to drive and keep on driving—

once to North Carolina

once to Arizona—

I'm through with all that now, I hope.

The last time was years ago.

But oh, how I would drive

and keep on driving!

The universe around me

all well in my control;

anything I wanted on the radio,

the air blasting hot or cold;

sobbing as loudly as I cared to sob,

screaming as loudly as I needed to scream.

I would live on apples and black coffee,

shower at truck stops,

sleep curled up

in the cozy back seat I loved.

The last time, I left at 3 a.m.

By New York state,

I stopped screaming;

by Tulsa

I stopped sobbing;

by the time I pulled into Flagstaff

I was thinking

about the Canyon,

I was so empty.

Thinking about the canyon

I was.

I sat on the rim at dawn,

let all the colors fill me.

It was cold. I saw my breath

like steam from a soup pot.

I saw small fossils in the gravel.

I saw how much world there was

how much darkness

could be swept out

by the sun.

QUOTE: "There is more credit and satisfaction in being a first-rate truck driver than a tenth-rate executive." ~ B. C. Forbes