Nothing Like It

[thisnewday]

The last time I saw rain, like we had this morning, was when Helen and I were living in Houston and we caught one of those hellacious storms that sometimes come inland off the Gulf. Which you can't really call a downpour because it's, you know, coming straight at you.

(Kind of wondering if those good old boys I worked with at Palm Center are getting hit with some of that now. Wishing Earl "The Old Indian" Shriver, Isaiah "Ike" Pittman, Gerald, and Barry the best of luck, wherever they may be in this life.

When I told Gerald that Helen was expecting, and we'd be moving back north, he shared some down-home wisdom with me. Which was that, "You shouldn't go running off in the heat of the day."

And when I was loading my roll cab into the van for the trip home, he shook his head and told me, "You know you're just a frustrated snow bird," lol.)

Anyway, since it was no kind of weather for an old man to be out on a bike, I took Black Allegro down to the basement and set her up in the mag trainer. Then I came upstairs and drafted a 16-minute routine which I saved and printed out for future revision. Because, you know, the first one is always just a start.

I also allowed that I might hop off, right in the middle of it, if I needed to change something. In fact, I did make a couple of changes, somewhere near the middle, but saved them 'til the "ride" was over.

It continued to rain, and to threaten rain, the rest of the day but, around 4:30, the pavement and shoulders of the road had dried and I decided to take Allegro off the stand and out onto the road.

Because, you know, there's nothing like it. Nothing...

LPK
Dreamwidth
8.27.2020 

Comments

[rosegardenfae]

I lived in San Leon, TX for a while, one block from the Gulf, and know those storms of which you speak. Crazy rain and wicked wind. Although we are badly in need of moisture here, we didn't get any;though my daughter 40 miles south caught a nice shower. Sure wish I had your enthusiasm for physical activity; I could use some movement.

[thisnewday]

Yeah, those storms are amazing. We had one storm that dumped so much water, in such a short time, that it actually filled the bayous that you find in South/Central Houston and flooded over into the streets.

It had never occurred to me to wonder why all the buildings--like our apartment complex and the Montgomery-Ward across the street from us--were built above street level.

Then we got that storm and I rode my yellow Schwinn 10-speed across the flooded street, through the M-W parking lot, across two more flooded streets and, finally, up the driveway to the Toyota dealership where I worked.

The next 2-3 days they were towing in flooded cars and we were draining engines, transmissions, and differentials, replacing brakes, and stripping interiors and taking them to shops that specialized in repairing/refurbishing them. Fun times.

Not sure if I'd have bought the Allegro if I hadn't planned on riding it with my grandson but, for sure, it's been a life saver.

Also not sure if it's an "enthusiasm" that I possess--or that possesses me, it's just something I've always done. To be honest, I quite often think how much more productive my life would be if I put that energy into things like you and our other LJ/DW friends do...

[rosegardenfae]

Remember productivity is not an indicator of worth. We are, however, programmed to see it that way. All I've done this week is read and bit of cooking, because, ya know, I get hungry lol

[thisnewday]

"...because, ya know, I get hungry lol"

Yeah, me too. Even so, my "cooking" has consisted of sauteing a pound or so of cut-up chicken breast which I served myself over ready-made veggie salads from the nearby Wegman's.

Which I've eaten while watching the HBO miniseries "Empire Falls" (which I'm now re-reading) as well as the Norah Ephron rom-com, "You've Got Mail..."