Scoplaw

Slowing Down

Sheesh.  That was an oddly intense week.  After the funeral, I found out that CT was looking at snow with accumulation, which just isn't something that mixes well with motorcycles. 

So I left asap, motoring south.  I got as far as the NJ turnpike before the torrential rains hit.  After that it was pretty much a disaster.  The visor fogged no matter what I did, the horn circuit got wet and kept randomly going off (I have an air horn - loud enough to cause alarm), and all my "waterproof" gear started failing, one piece after another.  Except for the gortex boots - which filled with water and would not drain. I can't recall more miserable travel ever.  In any medium.   I had to crush the horn circuit relay (I have a replacement) and use tin foil to cover part of the radiator (the engine was actually too cool with the wind and rain!)

I had planned on meeting a female friend for a date in DC.  Yep.  An actual date.  But she was left sitting in her swank dress and shoes while I crept southbound, warming my hands as best I could.  When I finally arrived in DC, 4 hours late, and teeth chattering with cold, she took pity on me and let me use her dryer.  (I sat on the curb and emptied the water from my boots before knocking on her door.)  Probably qualifies as the worst date I've ever had, casual or otherwise. 

I hung out with The James Bond Watch (and saw his totally awesome new digs and new office space in the DC federal courthouse).  His roommates are great.  I also had brunch with the mystery lady and some friends which went much better due to a lack of dripping and shivering.  She and I then went to a Man Ray exhibit which was totally impressive.  Some people are easy to moniker, some are not.  She's not.  So she's just going to be the mystery lady for a bit while I consider this.  I mean we talked about critical race theory, poetry, made fun of impressionism, and hold similar opinions on Fishbone and the Tarot.  Quasi Freakish parallels abounded.

I left DC on Monday and headed south.  The ride got increasingly better as I went.  Sherry sealed up beautifully and her gas mileage improved along with her power.  Low 40s while cruising at 70?  Gotta love it.  I spent the final 18 hours in one extended stretch of just-go.  So I feel that while I'm slowing a bit with age, I can still largely bring it in the endurance category.  1000 miles in less than 24 hours.  That's not so bad. 

I also discovered that while I like to think I'm tolerant, there are some things that I have no respect for.  All of these things managed to manifest themselves in a gas station in southern GA.  A truly odd moment.

And now, back to the grind.

Random Beauty and Death

This may be one of the strangest visits to New England that I've ever had. 

In the good news category, I finally (finally) visited an old friend after too many years and met her husband.  They seem to be doing awesomely well, so, of course, that makes the world brighter. 

I puttered about town, visiting old haunts and in general enjoying the leaves, the stone walls, the friendly waves, the busy library, and the general competent bustle that is central CT in early fall. 

Last night, I hung out with H and Otto while they were rehearsing some new songs. Then I got a tour of Icebox's new house - she bought and is fixing up a lovely old farmish house on the edge of town; it'd be a good place for her cats, except for the coyotes.  Then we all went to a local tavern where I randomly ran into Housejacked, who I used to live with.  It was a fun reunion - he and his family are doing well.

However in the midst of all this, an old friend from HS apparently was succumbing to Hodgkins (?), and died sometime last night or this morning.  I thought she was in remission - she did a lot of high profile cancer survivor work.  Details are still coming in.  Oddly enough, she was randomly mentioned on both evenings.

Today is the wake for my great-aunt, who died on Wed. morning. 

All so very bizarre.  Sigh. 

Looking Scruffy While Mountain Biking at Valley Falls

 

Turning

Well, everything is changed about.  I had planned to take a vacation in Miami - maybe chill out, do some small projects, hang out with some local folks whom I never see (for no good reason).

Instead I got a phone call on Friday that my great aunt is very sick, deathbed sick, and so I decided to head north to see her.

I took the motorcycle (1500miles in under 48hours).  I broke the trip visiting Riposte and her Grandfather in SC, which was lovely as I'd not seen her in 2 years.  Before that was also a couple of years.  And before that was 2 years.  I hope this does not become more of a pattern than it is.  It was so good to see her again - she amazingly looks exactly the same as she did when I first met her, way back in the Athens days.  And she still has that razor sharp mind.  I love my friends in no small part because I walk away from them with questions and ideas I didn't have before I saw them.  In this particular case I'll be looking at some theological writings.

The trip itself was great but so fucking cold.  I was fine until I hit the outskirts of Baltimore when night was falling.  After that it was a series of short hops where I'd stop to warm up (but not to get too sweaty-warm, which would make you colder as the sweat chills) before doing the next bit.  I think the gear for the trip back will be stepped up a bit to be more windproof.  Apart from the cold I had no physical problems at all.  I think much of that is the new seat/backrest that I made after the last long trip on Bess left me cramped and achy.  I didn't put floorboards on Sherry but the stock pegs did very well. 

The roadways were largely clear, except for 95 just north of the GW bridge - that qualifies as off roading.  I got air twice off frost heaves.  But apart from that, it was awesome to deal with changes in elevation as well as actual curves.  Sherry is a great bike with more than adequate power.  However she really shines in cornering and FL really does not give much oppertunity to ride her that way.  FL's more of a straight line power kind of riding.  CTs all twisty and folded - Sherry just sails along with aplomb. 

I miss CT.  I'm excited to see hardwood trees again and pines.  The leaves are just turning and the air is full of that fall crispness that transmits distant scents and makes you conscious of each breath.  I'm doing a bicycle ride with H tomorrow and will try to do a small hike on the mountain before I go.

Tonight Youngest Brother and I had an excellent dinner at a local Italian place - we also had Tenpenny Ale, which is brewed locally and is much missed by myself.  I had packed light and was planning to rely on some clothing I had in storage for the weather up here.  I think I had enough put aside, but even so, I left the house underdressed.  After dinner I ended up at H's house, where she gave me an ex-girlfriend's long coat to wear over my inadequate sweater.  That was kind of a confusing sensory experience for me.  In addition to the coat, H's house is now the oldest inhabited house that holds the deepest memories for me.  Well, there's also T-Rex's house, which is just next door.  But apart from those, all the other houses of my childhood have been sold or abandoned or whatnotted.  There's my grandfathers house, and one of my aunts, but those are places I largely visited, not more or less lived in.  Certainly they were more "family" places, and while they're deep in memory, they're of a different texture from the daily "trying to figure it all out" variety.  Some of the best and worst nights of my life were spent in H's house. 

Also, after dinner some of the old Rocky Horror Picture Show crew showed up - it was great to see them again.  One in particular is a soft spoken intellectual individual who is pretty politcally engaged while being unplugged from bullshit local culture.  The only thing that required a little extra conversational grace on my part was that she had gotten a sex change and changed her name as well.  I kept wanting to refer to her by her old male name, which is a name I rather liked anyway.  She taught me a new word and we had a good conversation featuring the media, law, the shear amount of dead people any one of us knows, and guitar fingering styles.  I think the best line of the night was, "I don't care how straight you are - you're always going to be somebody's freak."

As usual, there are too many people to see, too many things to do.  The central reason why I'm here is a sad one - I have no idea how it's going to go, or how much time I should spend with the great aunt.  She's obviously very tired and may want privacy.  So I figure she'll be my first priority and then I'll try to fill my days otherwise.  Should be easy to do.  Probably won't be blogging much about that situation though. 

Right now the plan is to head south again on Friday, which should bring me back to Miami in time for court on Monday.