Running the roads...
The sun was bright and the air was filled with a new breeze. I walked outside and looked around with a smile on my face. Spring was just a few weeks away and I was enjoying one of the few warm days we had been allowed by Nature. I got into my favorite little red convertible and put the top down. Driving down our long driveway, I looked out over the old growth forest that was getting very rare in this part of the country. Everyone was clear cutting, no one was enjoying the native flora and fauna anymore. By the time I had reached the highway I had seen a wide variety of birds, squirrels jumping from tree to tree, and even a large female deer with her fawn over by the creek that ran through our property. The peace and quiet of my little piece of heaven was the perfect setting to prepare me for what I wanted to do next. Race the wind and test my driving skill on the roads.
I put on my seatbelt and sunglasses and then eased out onto the highway. I went from first gear to third in a few seconds and eased comfortably into fourth. The hills and turns ahead of me were laid out like a dark gray ribbon against the budding green of the landscape around me. Three miles down the road I turned off onto a back highway that I had been looking forward to all morning. I was the only car on the road and quickly went past the speed limit without a thought. The open air, the wind whipping my hair about and the sound of the engine were all that I needed at that moment.
At the next turn in the highway I was grinning like a demon because here is what I loved - turns and bends in the road that would test my skill as a driver at higher than usual speeds. As soon as I had cleared the turn I shifted up into fourth gear and then, as my foot pressed down on the accelerate, fifth gear. My adrenaline was pumping as I maneuvered each turn and bend for the next few miles, pushing myself back into the seat to stabilize myself through each turn.
I finally reached the straightaway and really opened her up, the roar of the engine had drowned out the radio so I reached over and cranked it up. Sounds of my car and the song "Life is a highway and I want to ride it all night long..." were blasting through the countryside.
Before I knew it, blue lights were flashing behind me and I slowed down to pull over. As the officer walked up to my car I recognized him as one of my neighbors. I took off the sun glasses and smiled up at him as I turned down the stereo. "Hey Coach," I said to him. He removed his glasses as well and said, "Damn it Jas, I warned you about running the roads in this car." He chastised me for a full 10 minutes before he asked me to stop racing around on the highways like a maniac. "Now Coach, you know that I'm not going to make a promise like that... I'd never keep it." I replied to him with a smile. He just sighed, shook his head and handed me a speeding ticket.
I put the ticket into the glove box, along with the others, and got back onto the road. Before he had even turned his cruiser around I was out of sight and racing the dark gray ribbon again. I laughed into the wind and headed into town for my lunch appointment. Racing the wind in that little car was better than chocolate, better than my favorite ice cream, almost better than... well let's just leave it at that.
