Dedalus hated driving in the dark, especially down the mountain. In his shit-heap that passed for a vehicle, the darkness seemed to close in around him, suffocating as he barreled round the turns, 20 miles per hour faster than the posted speed limit. His yellowed and savage headlights barely pierced the thick of it, he reading the road by the white stripes that passed nearly beneath the hunk of metal and oil.
Let's go, old girl. Let's go.
He measured his distance by the turnouts and the signs of elevation. At one time, he could do it by the number of times his ears would pop as he descended the hill, but now that he was near-deaf in the left ear (too many concerts) and had a severe infection (too much time in the lake) in the right, that ear-popping was less and less frequent. He kept the windows down and the radio up, both hands on the wheel and a constant barrage of reassurance to the decrepit Oldsmobile.
Let's go, old girl. Let's go.
It was early spring and the wind whipped up in the cabin, stinging and fresh. Dedalus pulled his hood closer around his ears, adjusted his hat and hit the pedal harder. His fear transferred itself into a jittery, loose-lipped shot from the hip. If anyone else were in the car, they would have clutched the oh-shit bar and kept their heels dug deep into the floorboards.
The tires screeched around every corner, in time with the music, in time with his cadence.
At 2,000 feet now. Come on, old girl. Let's go. Nearly there, now.
Yellow lights reflected back at him as a truck passed in the opposite direction. He put up his forearm to shade his eyes and came off the accelerator. The truck passed as quickly as it approached; he saw the red lights receding in his rear-view mirror. His heart quickened; his foot dropped back down.
Taking a turn too close in the darkness, the black came to claim him. His tires hit loose gravel and his rear-end came spinning out behind him. He overturned, both hands white-knuckle white on the steering wheel, gritting his teeth and leaning forward, breathing out his mouth. Slowly, the fishtailing came under control and he merged back into his lane.
Let's go, old girl. That was close. Let's go.
He patted the dash and smiled for the first time, his cheeks red from the wind, his eyes blood-shot from holding them so largely open.
Ten minutes later, they rounded the last turn of the darkness and came to a long, wide-laned straightaway. The night receded as the city lights enveloped them and Dedalus rolled up the windows, lowered his hood and shivered.
God, I hate that mountain. We're home, old girl. We're home.
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A ragged accumulation of writing.
2 comments:
ey bro - i thought i might leave my reply here for you>?
Oh gee dude, thats a had one……. ???
It is easy to say what i dislke, but what to put in its place?
And as for Indigenous people and issues of self government, it is something for them (respectfull)y to outlay themselves!
Autonomy is a right, self rule for a people is democractic and cultural given, without going into detail of how varied cultural rule can be, so in general terms i say that!
I want for indigenous people the world over the simple right to have sovereignity in their own lands, where they do not have such? Simple as that, let them devise their system according to priniciples of equality, peace and communual standards of respect under love.
A dream i know, but under God there is a way!
That brings me to my next point, the Government is upon his (Jesus) shoulders brother : Isaiah 9:6 …….. i have to start thinking more heavenly minded in terms of my political allegiance.
The previous Prime Minister John Howard claimed to be a Christian, George Bush also, Kevin Rudd attends a Anglican church and so on, though i can not see where their decisions reflect an intimacy of prayer and God, for their decision making by and large shows how dictated to by economic and global monetary trends, then in long term sustainable changes to benefit mankind & the environment rather then the hope of keeping share holders profits up and big business trade a float!
The world has restrucuted under economics and free trade, so as politicians come and go and their tiresome attacks on each others character with it, the people behind politicians remain the same and so the world keeps spining…. and nothing changes, but only to a more drastic state of hedonistic virtue!
I have but one reality that being “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth” 1tim 3:15
And as long as their is left wing and right wing politics and the myriad of Political parties forming their doctrine and idealogies around theese precepts, nothing will ultimately change!
For whether left or right of the political arguement all i see are extremes, no moderation relating to the common man and lady on the street! or i see a indifferent malass of untalented figures trading portfolios like football cards at the end of a season! Self serving and witha aim to seeing our a number of terms in office to simply reap a healthy retiremnt fund! or a position in some wealthy buisness of some busniess friend they were lenient and helpful to during their term!
The political system is broken and i dare say it can not be fixed and it will only get worse! It needs to be put down and new system to be embraced ! remember King Saul, the people wanted a king like the other nations (1Sa 8:6), God knew better and said don’t even go there (1Sa 8:11 -19), told them all the problems a king would create for them, they didn’t listen, they still wanted a king, so one was picked (Saul) and ended up getting a king that was impatient and a war monger not lead by God and one who feared the people more then he feared God, which caused him to er!
Sounds familiar?
and i think there in lies our answers perhaps?
And as far as revolutions go, one started 2000yrs ago!
peace bro.
Aloha dr j ~
I know what you mean, especially in regard to letting people groups learn to govern themselves in ways that are best suited to meet the cultural and socio-economic needs of the mass.
It lends me to think about my great country's stance on anything outside of a democracy -- that it is to be overthrown and a democracy similar to ours should be instated. How shameful our elitism is! I find it difficult to stomach -- we are told to stand up for the oppressed, not to oppress those whose ideas are different than ours. While we needed the help of the French to win the Revolutionary War, France did not come trouncing in, unannounced, and waylay the British in some vain attempt to make us like them. Far from it! Nor did we adopt their ways! And so, here we are after 205 years (since 1783) of democratic rule, making war upon countries that have done no harm to us. How foul we are!
And yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly about Jesus, His role in government, etc. -- but there will not be a theocratic state until His glorious return, so we must make due the best way we can until then -- and that sometimes means staging revolt and revolution in the name of the people who are being wrongly governed. But too often, we prefer to speak of revolutions and do nothing revolutionary -- though we are counseled -- and we counsel -- to be the change we wish to see in the world, we only acquiesce to the makings of the world. It is frustrating to say the least.
Government and its representatives, by and large, speak to hear themselves, to stir up good feelings that they might underhandedly do what they want, what is in the interest of the corporations at large, to further the divide between rich and poor, those represented and those mis-represented. How dreary the outcome would be without our Good God! But He, even He, has called men like you and me to stand up and speak out.
It is us that must teach this generation that there are ideas worth living -- and worth dying -- for. Which hills do we choose not to run off of? From what post will we sound no retreat?
Remember, my friend, the last sound of the day, when all is said and done, will not be Taps; it will not be the sound of the dying soldier. It will be Revely -- the sound of morning and a new dawn.
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