Road Trip

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Road Trip

My hormones made it a challenging five hour ride at best. I sat for most of the time in silence, thinking about life, and reading a really fun book called Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. It is a “neo-Victorian book” written in a style perhaps like Dickens. It takes place in England during the 1800’s and is full of intrigue, lust, twists and turns. I have taken to carrying it around with me and reading it at any chance I have. It is some 600 pages, but I am nearly half way through it and I have only started it a few days ago. My brother in law bought it for me for Christmas last year. What a perfect choice and I really love getting a gift that someone has so carefully picked out.

I spent the five hour trip to the Cape in silence (it was so much safer for both Larry and I that I not speak as I feel possessed by devils) I thought about the road trips I took as a child. My brother and I would look out the back window and wave to all the truck drivers, thrilled when they would honk their horns. We read in the car, played car bingo, and colored. We had to be quiet and not too loud as my father would read us the riot act if we weren’t.

I remember eating raisins in the car. It was the only food we were allowed to carefully eat in my father’s 1965? Mercedes 190D I must have caught a stomach bug on one of the trips and threw up all over the back of the car. I was terrified of my father, and remember the stony silence on the ride back to the house.

I was young, perhaps 5 or so when it happened. After that I was plagued for a good 35+ years with a nervous stomach whenever I went on a trip. I am over that now, and am grateful that I am no longer handicapped by something that I kept a secret and which tortured me a good part of my life.

The trip was sunny and warm, until we pulled into our destination. The Cape was fogged in. I was bitterly disappointed . Five hours of travel and no sun. We went to Nauset Beach anyway, and we went for a walk. I was bare legged and cold after the long walk., but most of my stress melted away, and I felt human once again. Lucky Larry.

We met a fabulous couple, whose story I will tell about later. Larry is waiting for me to finish, and off we head to Wellfleet and perhaps Marconi Beach if the sun is strong enough and it is warm enough for me to read or paint for a bit.

Till tomorrow, Patti

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