Ramble

      Sometimes the call is too great, the pull too strong to resist. When you get a window you have to take it. You choose a path and follow it. You make a wrong turn and you double back. In the end, when you find your way home, sometimes the first mile seems like it was traveled on a different day. When the sights, smells and sounds grow so high in number, my brain tricks me into pushing them so far back that they seem so distant. 

      I discovered long ago that a catfish dinner can be just what you need after a long day. Brandon and I discovered The Ark on our way back from who knows where some time ago. It was one of those days where we rode until we ran out of daylight and then hopped on the slab to power home. I've passed it time and time again on my way out of town. For this ride, it was just an excuse to get out of the city.

      It is rare these days that I have a chance to just go. Don't get me wrong, I am always going somewhere. It is days where I can go nowhere that I rarely see anymore. Looking at a map, I made a few mental notes and calculations and had a loose plan in mind. In the end, loose was the best word for it as I ditched earlier ideas and took turns with better looking horizons. I chased water where it ran and turned again when the water became the shore.

      I looked for routes that ran close to the beaten path but not on it. I made mistakes and got burnt by the sun. I pushed my luck, gambled and won. The day was cold until the mid afternoon and I fell in love with the chill in the air and the goosebumps that resulted. I ran through traffic approaching the city again and could have kissed the first familiar face I saw.
     I would say that days like these are few and far between but it would be a lie. I am fortunate to have a lot of good days lately. They are all good in different ways filled with different things. The season has changed and this is the first of what will hopefully be many, cramming all that we can in before the cold returns and we'll dream of times like these. I'm going to fill my pocket while I can.