Driving I-95 S. With all things Sacred.

~ Live & Learn

traffic, cars,highway,drive

4 am.
The windows mist up and clear.
Wipers, never short of stamina, never lose their rhythm, clear the morning rain.
The soft click of the back and forth, lull me into a gentle place.

Waze signals 10.5 hours in front of us.
I’m the first to carry the baton.
I’m pressing to slingshot over the GW Bridge ahead of rush hour.
Rain, highway warning signs, road construction.
Truckers, tourists, insomiacs – all being squeezed, four lanes into one.
We clear.

We fly out of the shoot and enter the NJ turnpike.
The right hand makes slight course corrections.
The right foot steady, to 82 mph.
Makin’ time in Summer time.

Susan sleeps in the back.
Eric snores to my right.
But for the hum of the engine, the cabin is quiet.
A thin stream of light lines the horizon, dawn stretching to lift Night.
Quiet? Not.
More like Levithan’s Unquiet – words and thoughts crash into each other.

It’s Eric’s Senior Year.
Mom and Dad are dropping off their precious cargo and deadheading back.
The Melancholy Bus rides again.

I flip the keys to Mom at our first pit stop.
Rest rooms, coffee, and a top up of fuel.
But what are Road Trips without Fast Food?
The Golden Arches. Billions Served. Quarter Pounders.  Fries. Hot Apple Pies.

But we’ve evolved.
We’re so beyond that.

You say I can’t do it.
I say, anything is possible.
You say I’ll have regrets.
I’ll say you’re probably right.

I settle into the back seat.
My back rests against the door.
My legs are up on the seat.
I lay a handful of napkins on the floor.
I pause to admire The Box. Smooth. Pastel colors.

If there is a God.
And God made Man.
And Man made this, it has to be Sacred.
Nothing else could so trigger this reaction.
I need a Dentist’s saliva vacuum to suck out the overflow.
We’re flooding here.

I open The Box.
There lay six new borne Krispy Kremes, babes wrapped in cloth in the manger.
My hands are shaking. I’m an addict. I’m sure of it.

One hand gripping the box. The other is workin’ hand to mouth. In 7 minutes:

  • 2 original glazed. (380 cal total)
  • 1 chocolate glazed. (400 cal each)
  • 1 glazed blueberry cake. (300 cal each)

I stop to take a breath.
I’m lightheaded with vertigo. A Sugar Buzz.
There are two left in the box.
I set the box down.
I need an intervention.
God help me.  What have I done?

I shout up to the front seat:
“Can you please lock the doors, so I don’t roll onto the highway.”

The Melancholy Bus rides on.

Notes:

36 thoughts on “Driving I-95 S. With all things Sacred.”

  7. So perfectly written. It’s all there.
    Love the dentist’s saliva vacuum reference. And the capitalization on Sugar and Buzz. It’s it’s own thing.
    Cheers to the senior year – for all of you.

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  8. Yippee! DK’s gone on a sugar binge–I’m getting a running post sometime in the next 72 hours. Finding a comfy chair and pouring a glass of vino in anticipation… 😀😀 (And wishing Eric a fabulous senior ?!! (Where did the time go?) year….

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  10. Oh, my. I’ve driven that melancholy bus. But never had the pleasure of the Krispy Kreme fix in the process. I’m trying to figure out how far south you had to go to find one. I haven’t had one of those puppies since South Carolina..decades now. ☺

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  11. Vivid imagery, David. You made me laugh so hard. I remember riding that buss a few years back…waffles swimming in cream and syrup of years passed too quickly. I wish Eric a fabulous senior year.

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  12. Gotta soften the blows. Sometimes sugar helps, sometimes you just get fat ha! Senior year will be great, no need for the melancholy bus…… Next step Rehab! I can suggest some for you. But they are in Fiji…

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