Strange viewpoint from a 50something

Posts tagged ‘adventure’

I find my soul when rubber meets the concrete…

My hoopty vacation has come to a close. There was just something sad about that long drive home. Don’t get me wrong… it’s not the driving! As you well know that is my thing… but the return to real life, after a few days on the beach?? I won’t be right for a while!
I held out hope that I would finally drive my little blue Baby. Del has her as fixed as she going to get right now. And she was ready just a few days before my trip!! Much discussion later, we decided I would be better off driving ‘hoopty’ because at least it is reliable. After the left hook little blue took from that guardrail, driving locally for a time is highly recommended. Oh the crush to my vanity!! Even if ‘Baby’ does have major crash/scratch/dent issues down one side… oh how I want to run the roads with her again!!! (It won’t be long… I’ll soon be back in her driver’s seat that fits my tail so well, my hand on the shifter, my feet poised over those pedals on the floor!!  omg I misssssss her!!! =)! )
Resigned to driving the hoopty, it really was an awesome trip. Something I had looked forward to for quite awhile. And I need that… the anticipation of something. The minute I hit the road heading south, I felt the stress wash right off of me. The freedom of choosing whatever route I want to go… ahhh! My destination this trip was Sunny Florida, but the adventure was in getting there. The things I get to see — those things that peak my interest enough for me to get off the beaten track to investigate. That’s what it’s about. You don’t know if any given exit holds a moment that will effect your attitude. That chance encounter with someone who will do or say something that might change you for the rest of your life! An action, a smile or a wave, or maybe a genuinely sincere hello from a stranger. I think the main thing is to be open to those possiblities! I drove roads I’ve never driven and on those well run roads – I ventured off on exits I’d only passed by before.
I love driving, just going from here to there. Highway driving is a favorite. If I had done things different when I was younger I might have been a truck driver. Those rigs that scream the highways with me, I have so much envy and respect for them. Most folks just see them as a roadway hazard, them big ole things clogging up the highways. But they are what moves America!! It is a remarkable industry, and has a huge family called ‘truckers’ that keep it alive! These 18 wheeled beasts carry everything from A to Z!  Most people have no idea of the mass that those trucks have.. cutting them off with no regard for the consequences. Little do folks realize, but these big rigs are driven by people like you and I, small humans compared to the trucks they drive. Huge mass with moving momentum is not easy to stop in an instant! And as good a driver as they might be, it takes so much more to stop one!! My advice to any who share the roads with them, they are NOT road bullies, they are just BIG travelers!! So make some room!! A fantastic community of men and women who will watch out for you if you show them the respect they deserve. And, of course, I can draft them! I have only drafted a few who didn’t like me doing that.. but most of them don’t seem to mind. I just had my longest draft run ever, behind a Peterbuilt up I-75, I was in his draft for 92 miles!! I wonder what he was thinking as he watched me in his mirrors??  When I changed interstates I honked a big thank you and he flickered his lights!! Now that is some highway communication!!! He was AweSome!!
As I rolled the roads, thoughts flowed easy as I passed mile marker after mile marker. I am at my calmest behind the wheel. The only thing missing this trip was my car stereo. (Hoopty has a vacant spot where radio should be) I had only my ipod with those damned earbuds. (Which after a couple hours become uncomfortably annoying) I channeled my inner little girl as I let the music enter my ears and leave through my voice. As I schreeched sang each song, I was flooded with memories both good and bad. It’s amazing how far I have come, all the lives I’ve lived. All the people I have known. And just where would I like to go?? Who the hell knows! Doesn’t matter though because it ends at the same place we will all face called death. But damned if I’m not do some serious shifting and skid in screaming ~ Hell Yeah!! =D

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Hello?… Adventure? I’m on my way…

Every time I get behind the wheel of a car, it is a new adventure. Driving is certainly not what it used to be. I have complained many times about the mass of people I now have to share the road with. Used to be I could get out in the middle of the night to find peace and very limited traffic. Not true anymore. Since we have become a 24/7 world there is no relief from the idiots! My job allows me to be on the road at any given time (the air freight business follows no reasonable time table) so I get to experience all driving scenarios.

But this is not a driver rant. This is about the adventure. If you were to set your mind to a different point of view about things… wow, how cool would that be? Well I have been doing just that. I may just be heading to work, but now it’s with a twist! The thing most people don’t realize is you’re not guaranteed the rest of the day. How many folks left for work yesterday and didn’t come home? Some were involved in car accidents, maybe someone had a heart attack, maybe someone fell down some stairs. The thing is you just don’t know. My father didn’t know 28 years ago that he would put his bowling shoes on and die at the lanes. I didn’t know years ago that when I left home in my beautiful new (to me) car, that it would be totaled at a stop light when an idiot ran a red light.

My father never came home…. gone. Just like that. Changed the family dynamic forever.

My beautiful new (to me) car…. gone. Just like that. Temporary but unexpected inconvenience.

I think the most important lesson learned is that life is crazy short!! It changes so drastically in just one second, minute, hour…. ahhhh you get the point… so what am I doing to make the best of it?

Last year when I wrecked my little blue car, I wasn’t hurt (physically anyway). But my psyche has paid dearly. I have thought daily about the end of my life. There are days when I actually wake up thinking… “it might be my last day… how will I live it?” I want to feel it. Whatever the day holds for me, I want to attack it and feel it. Life is truly there to be lived. I want the adventure everyday! 

Every time I get behind the wheel of a car, it really is a new adventure. Whatever mission I happen to be on –  work related, going to the store, the doctor, lunch with a friend – whatever – in the back of my mind the thought floats, “this is the last time you’ll do this, make it count.”  I want to be happy. Doing whatever it is I am doing. I want to let the world know that if it’s my last minute I am good with that. Today I head into the world with a light heart.  My life may change, something might happen out of the ordinary that will set my life on a new course… who knows what my day will hold? No matter what it is… I will roll with it. I will handle it with grace. I may or may not be happy with the ‘whatever’ ~but then, life is best lived in the unexpected.

Well, I am about to embark on my next adventure, get in the car and stick my arm out of the window. I love that roller coaster feel of my arm floating against the wind. Ready to drive myself right into the fun of a new day….

 

Adventure?… You there? Here I come…. what are we up to today??

 

 

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