Almost two months have passed since my last post to Scooter in the Sticks. Finally, I’ve emerged from gray into the light.

From time to time, I find myself wandering in a world of doubt, fear, and uncertainty, and everything becomes gray.  At first, I blamed the nagging pandemic and how it affected my life yet a close inspection revealed little change in my daily life.  I’ve been riding my Vespa scooter and BMW motorcycle throughout the summer and into the fall with little concern for what’s happening in the world, pandemic or otherwise.  Still, there is the familiar, comforting rush being on two wheels, my spirit vibrating with excitement and a stupid smile across my face that surely speaks of lunacy.

Yet when I sit down to write about those experiences I quickly descend into a gray abyss where ideas, thoughts, feelings, and memory evaporate.  I face a blank wall. It’s an unsettling landscape without a roadmap or destination.  After a while, I’m left wondering if I will ever emerge from gray into the light.

Without explanation, I wake to find myself standing in the light with something to write.

And there it is, my Vespa GTS scooter on a narrow road leading through Rothrock State Forest on a foggy morning.  The small tires moved smoothly along the gravel, the air full of moisture with the fragrance of leaves, and the feeling of being alive life filled me as I moved through nowhere to nowhere.  I remember that morning now and how it felt to be in the world.

For a while, I wondered if the desire to write had left me.  Numerous rides during the past four months along with many photographs had not triggered a need to write.  My mind was wandering elsewhere.  My body was engaged elsewhere.  Perhaps it was the end.

And then I emerged from gray into the light.

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