Reality in the Bright Sun
Can I outrun the advancing zombies on my motorcycle? Those words echo in the darker chasms of my mind, a river of fear flows through the abyss and I’ve slowly overcome by a fever of fear and anxiety. Far above there’s panic in the world. And the only treatment, or at least the one I reach for first is to go for a ride.
Riding imparts a quiet solitidue in my head. It can wash away the darkness and leave me standing in the sunlight, upright, calm and with a renewed perspective on the day. Or at least that’s my hope as I push the BMW K75 out of the garage.
I’m attracted to stories containing threads of melancholy and loss; especially in literature and movies. Irresistible forces and frightening odds with a protaginest who emerges beaten and bruises, heavy with grief yet triumphant as a representative of all that’s good with humanity. It’s never been clear to me why I’m attracted to these stories. I’m neither a hero in life or in the fantasies that drift through dream and consciousness.
It’s early morning with dazzling sunlight, welcomed after so many days of a monotone grayness that whispers to crawl into bed and go to sleep. The motorcycle moves smoothly along the highway as I head south along the front ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. It’s colder than I thought it would be, a few degrees below freezing, and my feet producing a dull ache as they give way to the cold. Another stop, this time for fuel and some time indoors to allow my body to warm.
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