Winter's gone for good. It's past two in the morning, and I just comfortably walked the neighborhood in shorts.
It's warm out. I liked the cold, but I am digging the warm. Somew
"with a chance to make it good somehow
hey what else can we do now
except roll down the window
and let the wind blow back your hair..."
Weird day.
The baby got up early, waltzed in to wake us up at 6:20.
For a change things went smoothly. Everyone got up early, got dressed, had their breakfast.
By 7:50 Evie and Riley had gone outside to play. I actually left for a work on time.
Got in the car, turned on the radio to whatever station I'd had on the night before.
Been a little down lately, it happens. For whatever reason, oh, who am I kidding, there's damn good reason. April can be a tough month for me, not every time around, sometimes it passes without incident, and other times, not so much.
Rolled down the driveway, and heard a piano and a harmonica coming out of the radio.
I know this song, I think.
"The screen door slams..."
I turn left down Second.
Thunder Road, I say out loud.
Instantly, I feel the fog of the past few days lift. It's warm, there's not a cloud in the sky, and it's been that way since Monday, but I am only just noticing.
Up Railroad, left on Round Lake, a left onto 67, I max out the volume and scream along.
C'mon, c'mon, I think as I sing. C'mon. Get over this hump. Get over.
&&&&
Sheila is not the biggest Bruce fan, and she's not a fan of this song, but it reminds me of her anyway.
She tried to run back inside, but I hung tough, showed a little faith.
"so you're scared and you're thinking we ain't that young anymore..."
We weren't in fact that young anymore, but we acted like we were.
Why not? You got nothing to lose, right?
"oh, oh, come take my hand..."
I waited as long as I had to for her to take my hand.
I couldn't do anything else.
Somewhere along the way, without having any intention of doing so, I had fallen for her, and hard.
One weekend in Brooklyn, walking across the bridge at some point after midnight, after we watched the Yanks lose to the Mets, and against her better judgment, she agreed to give it a shot.
I've made my share of mistakes along the long road we've walked since that night on the bridge, but hopefully not enough to erase the magic of those nights.
&&&&
"It's a town fulla losers," I sang, at the top of lungs.
It felt good to be alive, and in love.
I let go of way back when, came back to the now.
"I'm pullin' outta here to win..."
Goddamn right, I thought.
The song ended. I drank in as much sunlight as I could and drove on up to work, full of sunshine and blue skies.