Reflections in the Dark
Seems I’ve been having as many adventures on foot as I do the Vespa scooter. Night and day. Same with writing which more and more seems to happen after sundown. Thoughts at midnight and beyond. Circumstance and the ebb and flow of life are too blame. My job is to follow along as necessary. I believe in ritual. Have always been attracted to schedules and natural rhythms but am mature enough now to seem them for the necessarily selfish actions they require to maintain. Three meals a day, in bed by ten, up at 5:30. If riding the Vespa has taught me anything it’s that I’m not a machine.
If I were, I’d be broken.
Dog Shadows
Dogs understand the folly of schedules and rhythms. While they’re happy to follow them they readily adapt to circumstance. Two energetic faces suggest an early rise each morning but relent easily and wait their turn at life. Wandering at sunrise is an exercise in miracles. Lately I’ve taken to standing with the morning sun in my face, eyes closed to feel the heat and see my vision turn blood red. The dogs wander until I’m ready to play their favorite games.
Thoughts at Midnight with a Dog
My dog Junior is always ready for a walk. Writing now as the world nears 3am he’s sound asleep. But all I need do is say, “Want to go for a ride?” and he would be wide awake and at the door ready for adventure. Whatever clock or schedule he follows is entirely flexible.
I’m still learning from dogs. They don’t learn much from me.
On Gravel Roads
I’ve continued to ride as the weather has gotten colder. Any concerns about my tolerance of the weather have passed as my mind has hardened to the cold. I knew it would happen but it takes longer with the passing of the years.
All the electric gear has been tested and evaluated and gaps have been identified. A few days ago I reinstalled the Tucano Urbano muffs and marveled (again) at their ability to keep the icy cold from my tender hands. At 30F I can easily ride with my light, leather gloves with the heated grips on medium power.
I have been thinking more and more about the Tucano Urbano Termoscud Apron.
Vespa GTS Scooter in the Sticks
I do love to ride. While there are days when I may think, or even pronounce a hatred of getting on the scooter, it’s merely a passing cloud, the result of some small thing in life. Or perhaps something like Charles Dickens alluded to in A Christmas Carol:
“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato.”
Riding through the local forests and mountains is as satisfying now as it was the first time. I’ve changed. The scooter has changed. And even the forest and mountains have changed. But the thrill remains the same.
Writing at Duffy’s Tavern in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania
Lately I’ve been forgoing the clamor and commotion of the afternoon coffee shops for the quiet spaces in our local tavern, Duffy’s, just down the street from my home. Sitting on the porch in the afternoon sunlight with a cup of tea, chocolate cake and a journal is high on my list of simple pleasures.
One I didn’t often experience when working for a living.
And now, more and more, I’m experiencing thoughts at midnight. Or in this case beyond. It’s almost 3:30am and I’ve had enough. The dogs are asleep and I’ll join them soon. But I wonder if there isn’t a place with tea and sweets I could haunt after midnight.
One more reason to ride.
My mind is a busy fertile thing at 1 or 2 in the morning , but with a 5 AM wake up time that becomes a curse instead of something that I would like to explore.
I am eager to hear what you think of life with a scooter skirt after living with one.
Though you lean more toward the philosophical than the comic, it looks like you’ll have to take the place of Garrison Keillor on my computer. Only problem is you don’t post every day. Writer’s Almanac is gone.
Love the quote by C. Dickens. That chocolate thing at Duffy’s looks like a tasty bit. Now I’ll have to put that on my list for a local ride.
I’ve always enjoyed Garrison Keilor — especially the Writer’s Almanac. I suppose someone else could take it over but his voice was mesmerizing. Not an easy switch. And I certainly can’t fill those shoes.
At some point I’ll have to stop embracing the chocolate cake at Duffy’s Tavern. But for now, it’s just a wonderful excuse to escape into my journal. I hope to get there today for a time.
I come home some nights at 2:30 am after an overtime shift and Rusty and I go off and check the latest garbage piles at the side of the road as Hurricane Irma clean up moves glacially along. No traffic, no people, I listen to the radio on my phone, no earbuds needed, and Rusty dashes hither and yon sniffing people’s wrecked lives. Night walks are the best.
While I don’t envy what you had to endure with Hurricane Irma, I do envy the thought of nights that aren’t frigid. I’ve been cold for weeks now and can’t seem to warm up unless I’m near some sort of point source of heat. It’s times like this I wish we had a wood stove.
Late night walks are great. The world is sleepy and there is so much to see…
I like the photo taken at night with the dog shadow on the fence
with your shadow. That kind of self portrait jostles my mind a bit. I have to pause and reflect on what I’m seeing and what happened in the
photo. I don’t why but I don’t assume things are as they normally are. Same with photos with reflections of the photographer in mirror. I didn’t explain that very well. Oh well.
Paul “Foggy” Ruby
That picture must have shaken you — it was made in the morning sun and not at night.
As you know, I make a lot of reflection portraits. Like photographing the Vespa scooter, they’ve not lost their attraction for me. There’s always something for me to learn or think about when I look at them. If nothing else they remind me of the rush of the passing days as I see a progressively older man. Or boy.
“Ya, this Duffy’s Tavern.”
“No,
Duffy ain’t here.”
“Who’s here?”
“There’s a guy with a little Jap camera sitting over there drinking tea and
eating a slice of that cake made the other day.”
“Who?
“Damned if I know, think he’s somebody who lives ’round here
and recently retired from the University.
He rides one of those little Italian scooters….”
OK, we’ll talk to ya later…
Who did you say you was?
OK, a friend of Duffy.
Bye.”
Small town conversations like that occur here in Boalsburg. At some point they may know my name…
I’ve been (happily!) using a Tucano Urbano lap apron since I bought my ET4 in 2005; it takes all of two minutes to put it on or take it off my scooter. I just this year got the Tucano Urbano muffs; here in wet western Washington, it’s more about keeping my gloves dry and so far, so good.
Mine arrived and it went on the scooter in minutes. Unfortunately I’ve not had the opportunity to give it a good test. Once around the neighborhood at 40F. I certainly could tell that there would be much less cold on my legs and feet. And it was easy to manage getting on and off the scooter with it. Pretty amazing addition for a winter rider. I should have gotten one years ago. I’m a slow learner and even slower to take advice.
The muffs are great for me. My friend Paul thinks the scooter looks weird now with all the stuff attached. I see it as purely functional. Like a Land Rover. The old ones.
Interesting idea, riding when one can’t seem to fall asleep….I must explore that though I’ve developed a perceived vision shortfall when riding at night….don’t like to do it, not to mention the fauna that abounds at times when its dark.
As I tend to like riding where people are few or non-existent, the availability of a “local pub” isn’t a possibility.
My night vision isn’t what it used to be either which makes things a little different. And we have so many deer around to be concerned with. But from time to time a little jaunt feels right. Finding places to hang out late at night is harder and harder.
It is 03:00 Sunday December 10, 2017. The audio track “Celery Stalks at Midnight” keeps running through my head.
Took you advice Steve and finally located a virtually new Canon G15 at KEH. It was US$325.00 however by the time I collected it from the local FedEx outlet the cost had ballooned to nearly C$500.00!
That includes the 80 cent (at the time 78 cent) Canadian dollar plus shipping plus the FedEx handling fee to a foreign country plus the 13 percent local sales tax all compounded.
Have decided this small pocketable camera is really the best method. I did take a huge (for me) step backwards as well and obtained a mint from a pawn shop Nikon D90 with a 50mm lens for the same price Canadian as the G15. Thus far both have their place although the D90 controls are more familiar, to me.
So this early morning have been experimenting with the controls on the cameras. Mother Nature suggested a trip to the bog; so afterwards now the kettle is boiling for tea and I am thinking the operational differences and yes too the possible results.
Have been enduring/fighting medical issues once again so have had long periods horizontal to inspect both cameras. Your suggestions were spot on; maybe let others also know the details of the tripod you carry… Ditto a good deal!
So windows this time of year are particularly different, maybe go wandering some night this week. Tea should steeped by now!
That is a hefty price for a G15. I still use mine frequently despite the knowledge that there are cameras out there that have higher resolution. The features and optics on the G15 are hard to duplicate though and it is a bombproof machine. So I keep using it.
The Nikon D90 is certainly more camera but to what end? It’s big, bulky and heavy in comparison. It’s easy to always have the G15 ready in my pocket. So I make more photos.
Sorry to hear that you’re coping with some medical issues again. Nothing like a body reminding us that it’s in control of our reality. Hope you turn a corner and have the energy to put your camera to use soon.
If nothing else, have another cup of tea.