I was never so glad to wake up as this morning; awful dreams..nightmares really. I can usually figure out what event or little observation during the day became implanted in the deep recesses of my brain waiting to jump into the forefront of my unconscious state but I’m at a loss as to what triggered this overnight experience in terror. There were loads of senseless details but the main theme of NUCLEAR WAR was crystal clear. I’d somehow survived the first wave of explosions only to mosey about the countryside bumping into other zombie-like survivors stumbling around in the dust of nuclear winter waiting for the next bomb to drop. When it does, the Western sky lights up; at first beautiful..then terrifying and we all wait for the fireball to turn us back to carbon. But then, wait a minute, why do I hear little talking trains? That’s a weird twist even for this twisted dream. But I was actually awake now. I’d fallen asleep with the TV on watching something on the public broadcasting channel which turns into the kid’s show “Curious George” by morning.
Linda and I arrived back home from Arizona on Thursday afternoon..just ahead of a big snowstorm that’s supposed to hit Colorado and Nebraska. We encountered no travel problems at all this time except for the guy from Texas who, somewhere in New Mexico, took exception to my staying in the left lane to pass three vehicles in succession while he wanted around me NOW. After he was free to pass..he showed his displeasure by slowing down in front of me..then speeding up and blocking me from passing him back. Every ounce of my being wanted to bang into his rear end and make hand gestures..maybe even force us both to a stop..get out and have fisticuffs right there along side the interstate. But then, I remembered promising everybody that..yes, I’ll drive safely and carefully. Plus Linda was gripping the door strap so hard her knuckles were white. I backed off, let the belligerent Texan find someone else to bully and pulled into a gas station to fill up and cool off. The only other incident worth noting was when the driver of an 18 wheeler decided to take a nap at 70 miles an hour. He started drifting to the left just as I was in the process of passing. I took evasive action by veering to the shoulder and over those jarring rumble strips. The noise must have awakened the trucker because he jerked his wheel to the right before I was forced into taking Big Red on a journey from the pavement to the grassy median likely achieving flight status along the way.
Just a couple more reasons to fly instead of drive next year..especially with gas prices and motel rates all over the map. Fuel costs varied from $3.56 in Phoenix to $2.87 at one place in Colorado. I ended up paying 83 BUCKS for a one night stay in Trinidad, CO . at a SUPER 8..for cryin’ out loud. And that was with the bogus AARP discount. I would have walked out and sought something less expensive but we’d spent over 10 hours in the car and just wanted out.
It’s good to be back in our cozy little house even though the cupboards are bare and there’s a stack of bills awaiting my immediate attention.
Now if we could only have some snow since we haven’t seen any yet this winter. (Kidding)