Monday, November 13, 2006

Long and Winding Road


As I was running today in rural/smalltown North Carolina I was reminded of someplace else I had run. I remembered the road and the buildings and the houses. I was trying to remember the exact time and place and it suddenly stuck me - it was Wheeling, West Virginia - on the FIRST night of this trip.

It seemed like years ago.

In the early years I spent weeks and months on the road. The first trip, in 1997, was on a motorcycle and lasted for 8 weeks. The next year I went out for 12 weeks in a Firebird. Then there was the Van, the Jeep, the cross-country ride with my son - lots and lots of days and nights on the road.

The schedule is too full now, usually, to have the time and luxury of being on the road. I suppose it's just as well. But there's a magic on the road, a reality of only being able to go so far, of having to stop for gas and food, of seeing what's different and what's the same.

This time of year is especially beautiful in the southeast. The leaves have turned but are still on the trees. Tomorrow I head north, towards home. I'll be glad to get there.

ORN: I've been very consistent about getting in my runs. They haven't been long - often the BTN [better than nothing] but I've been doing 3-4 miles, 5-6 days a week.

1 comment:

L*I*S*A said...

Ahhh, yes, life on the road. I'm a gypsy at heart, so all aspects of it appeal to me.

Enjoy yourself in NC. I lived there for five years, and I sincerely miss the mild winters.