2003-05-18 - 10:07 a.m.

Still peace at the lake. Continuing and tranquil both. Last night I sat on the swing on the back porch and just enjoyed the evening settling in for half an hour. A bird thoughtfully offered to sing the whole time. I got to watch and take pictures of the myriad tine ripples spread across the entire lake, reflecting shifting dots and dashes of the trees on the other shore. I took pictures of the lake and of a tiny spider making a web on the porch railing, backlit by the sinking sun. I took a picture of my toes as I stood at the water's edge, my eye fascinated by the shimmering metallic reflection of a vein of minerals in a rock just under the water's surface.

These pictures never inspire me as much as the real thing. Whenever I see them, I remember a glimmer of the moment and am amazed at how little of it our technology can capture. It's not the fact that the cloud above is reflected piecemeal by hundreds of individual waves that makes it beautiful, it's the way those reflections are constantly in motion, never still, but always representing a still original, that soothes me.

Last night my grandparents went out for dinner at a senior's club in town ("age d'or" = "golden age" is so much nicer) I went out to a local golf course to hit the driving range. Considering I'd gone almost every day back home, it had been a long time, and I was surprised at how well I was striking the ball. Not exactly straight, but hardly straying from straight either. Aside from a few serious hooks and slices, 95% of my drives were high, long, and within a 20 yard radius of where I was aiming. Things were even better with my short irons. I landed a dozen shots quite close to the little target green they had set up 150 yards out. My 6 and 7 irons were consistently high and felt smooth, the ball coming off the club with no vibration. I just felt like I knew how I wanted to swing. That doesn't always happen :) I might just go out for a round during the time that I'm here. I know it'll be a lot cheaper than down south. I don't really relish the thought of going alone, especially because I might get put into a group. I might be able to play by myself if I go when the course is very quiet, or more likely I can solicit a relative to go out for a round with me. I'm not sure if I want to play yet, because I might just lose all my balls in the first few holes and feel like going home :o) That's why I like the range.. it doesn't really matter so much if I totally flub my shots, I can still savor the few good strokes that I make and bring away only those memories.

Wow, what a long paragraph. I should write about golf more often. I suppose that hour was particularly bright in my mind.

Another few hours that were quite memorable were the ones I spent riding my grandfather's four wheeler around. After dinner last night I spent most of the rest of the daylight hours out and about exploring roads and trails wherever I found them. I guess I just love riding machines of any kind, whether it be cars, motorcycles, bicycles, ATVs.. anything that attaches to my body somehow to enhance it's natural abilities. I like the feeling of a machine being an extension of my body, itself an extension of my brain, my mind. It gets to the point where I don't think about the particulars of operating a machine any more, it's as if I am the blend of the two. And that's not just fantasy, an ATV can be as much an extension of my brain as my hand is. It's not really any less removed.

Oh yeah. I had a strange moment there, coming back from my outing on the four wheeler. Just as I was heading back, on the last leg home, I looked up and saw that the sun was hiding behind a cloud and thought to myself that I would be home just as it was coming out, so I could sit on the back deck. A moment later the engine sputtered and died. I thought it was kind of meaningful in the sense that I had felt maybe a little too sure of myself in the previous moments, considering I was relying on technology when you never know what is going to happen. Anyway, I checked and it wasn't out of gas as I'd expected. That's surely what it sounded like. I tried various things, let the engine cool a little, and finally discovered a little hose that had come disconnected from the gas cap, probably that helped suction or something, I dunno. But just as I finally got the engine started again, at the exact moment, the sun came out from that cloud and shined down full on me. Enh. I certainly had a thoughtful moment there. Bugs me.

Anyway, must relinquish computer.

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