While driving ...

I rarely drove a car at all during the past three years. Yet since last Monday, I've become quite reacquainted with my Honda civic, the same car I drove across the Mississippi Delta prior to coming to New York City. While cruising for hours in the sun, my mind tends to fluctuate between taking in new surroundings and reflecting on past moments. During long stretches of road, I take note of the small towns, having to decrease my speed when we pass. I like looking at the front yards of houses, reading interesting billboards, and marveling at the occasional cloud patterns in the sky. The scenery in Illinois and Kansas (the farms, the narrow two-lane roads, the flatness, and the expansive reach of land) bring to mind memories of when I would drive through cotton fields of central Mississippi. And before I realize it, those thoughts lead to others, which spiral into others until Ann snaps me back to attention and asks, "Are you ready to switch?"