Some mornings, driving to work, I think how very much I would like to keep going. Continuously driving into morning light with coffee cup at my side, the engine droning, my novel being read to me. If my mind wanders off I can rewind, or turn the story off altogether. This daydream is very pleasant. How I could actually accomplish this ideal doesn't enter in. I must be a stickler for the lighting requirement: morning light is best, as my energy is best in that light. I think of the cars in Louise Erdrich's novels, carrying ghosts into other worlds, or forging bonds between mothers and sons, or, as the setting, with air-conditioning, for falling in love.
On the stretch where the road narrows I see the pasture where the mules and a couple of cows hang out. I won't see them until my drive home, but I like seeing the mist rise above the ground, knowing they'll be out there chewing cud and playing later in the day. Ibis hanging around. Against a salmon pink and purple sky, the Kokopeli tree blesses the curved road ahead. My instrument panel glows amidst the humming sound of wheels on pavement.
My car needs some work, but it isn't imperative at the moment. I put a lot of miles on this vehicle, commuting @72 miles round-trip, daily. I sometimes think of leasing a new car, not wanting to deal with all that comes with choosing a good used car. I don't want a car with pushbutton computerized starting. One more thing to break and let's face it, a cyberattack on the internet could put a stop to car computer functionality. I'll admit I haven't really looked into that. Maybe this key-started Subaru would roll to a stop, too, I know it has some kind of computer. In any case, gas stations pumps are also computerized so no one would be able to drive very far, for very long.
That's all a sidetrack to my daydream, however, and just the kind of thought that would force me to rewind. Rewind back to 1830 carriage rides around Middlemarch, England. Checking in on Mary Garth and Dr. Lidgate, et al. Nearly 200 years ago, those carriage rides; keeping warm with hot stones wrapped in blankets at your feet, and pockets filled with baked potatoes. Well, there's another sidetrack...
Hoping you all have good books in your hands at some point this week.
~Dorothy Dolores
The impulse/fantasy to just drive on and on past the work destination is one I remember from the days of my long commute. Having the captive time for audiobooks is likely the only thing I've missed about those drives.
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