she's got a ticket to ride...

it used to be easy to travel. i bought my ticket and away i flew. or i hopped into my truck and el paso was soon a shimmer in my rear view mirror. i loved driving and i could do it from early morning until well after dark. as johnny cash claimed, 'i've been everywhere, man.'

once as i headed back to san antonio from el paso, i noticed with a groan that i was low on gas. i was on I-10 and there were no gas stations (there are stretches of nothing but empty horizon when you drive through parts of texas). i turned off  at sheffield with my fingers crossed and luckily i found a remote, overpriced station. i filled up and drove north through a rather dismal 'downtown,' hoping to catch back up to the interstate. i passed an old fort and i wanted to stop but the sky was ominous so i kept driving. the road rose steeply and i came upon some huge turkey vultures sitting on the wall, looking down over the valley. i parked, pulled out my camera and took some photos. the dark clouds rolling in, the valley below and those incredible birds...i still have the photo but it doesn't begin to capture that moment.

i remember stopping in louisiana once, on my way alone to florida. i was looking for a subway because i wanted a sandwich. i found a beautiful old community with bike trails where the train tracks once ran and trees dripping with moss and a friendly gent, my own forrest gump,  who told me stories about his town while i ate my poor boy sandwhich on a bench ....i never found that subway shop.  i wonder if katrina wiped out that beautiful town. i wonder what became of  forrest....

i turned in my texas driver's licence last year, reluctantly. i stopped to renew it and i guess my wobbily gait and my slurring speech concerned the girl behind the counter. i wasn't up for a driving exam. besides, i had a vermont driver's licence in my wallet.

so i am still a legal driver but now i am a reluctant driver. i only drive when i am in vermont. i don't drive in inclement weather and i don't drive after dark. i tend to meander along back roads and, if they are dirt roads, i am blissfully happy. when i go back home this year, i suspect it may be my last summer of driving. this ataxia is making the simple act of driving a car an exhausting, challenging experience. hmnnn. does anybody know of a donkey cart available?