I'll Drive Anything

if it has no more than six gears, after that I'm kinda lost.  I have noticed the world is driving more and more automatics.  Where's the fun in that?  One time long ago I stopped to test drive a car.  The salesman looked down his nose and said, "That is a stick shift, I hope you know!"  I answered sweetly, Why, yes, that is why I want to test drive it.  Then the devil in me made me burn rubber in each gear as I left the car lot.  I thought it was showing him I COULD drive but I realized later he was probably thinking I couldn't.

Ever notice how you stop "burning rubber" when YOU have to pay for the tires?

I have driven Ford, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Jeep, Nissan, Dodge, Buick and a Studebaker.  I have no partiality to any brand but Hubby likes GMC and Chevrolet.  It's just the way it is.  I'm grateful if my vehicle starts.  It doesn't have to have air.  It doesn't have to have a radio (I make my own music).

Have you noticed the advertising?  Like A Rock.  Ram Tough. (I'll be a Dodge fan if they let Sam Elliott talk to me all day).  Appeal to all.  Now they are taking you through your entire life and your progression of cars.  I watch too much television.

I fell in love with Sam Elliott in The Quick and The Dead (1987).  I can pick out his voice in a filled stadium. Hubby knows.  From another room he will yell, "Can you tell who that is?"  Yep.  I don't seek him out.  I haven't seen all his movies.  I just love his voice.  Now he's selling Dodge.  I did watch him in Road House (1989) and I cried.  Two things stood out in the movie and it wasn't Patrick Swayze.  Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott) was fighting off some bad guys when he hit a guy in the knee and simply said, "Damn, that hurt, didn't it?" and for whatever insane reason I fell in love again.  Also in this movie the new owner of the road house was trying to clean up the place a little, making it a respectable drinking establishment. In the bathroom on the wall was "For a good f*** call 555-5555" The new owner changed that word to Buick!  I was so impressed.

Now I have a Buick, not because I actively looked for one, just luck of the draw.  I am waking into a new world with this car.  It's not new but it's new to me and it has too many gadgets!  It's like driving a computer!  Or like a computer driving me.  I haven't decided yet.

I recently discovered it has seat settings quite by accident.  I hit the button as I sat down.  The seat was moving, the mirrors were moving. I was holding onto the steering wheel thinking the rain had ruined my car!  So when the seat stops moving, I look.  There's a button.  I push it.  Hold on!  I'm moving again!  Without the aid of an instruction manual, which I had, I learned how to set my proper seating position to drive.  I was as proud as the first time I was able to turn on my computer.

Okay, I'm hitting post because I think you might enjoy my ramblings. This is how my mind jumps around when I don't pull on the reins.

Next time I'm buying a Dodge!

Sam Elliott

Dreaming

Through The Looking Glass

Slippers into The Dome

Wishing they were ruby

(There's no place like home)

If I had The Ruby Ring

I'd twist my wish into play

Back through the wardrobe

To visit Narnia today

"Between the Dawn of Faerie

And the Dominion of Men"

I keep a watch for Moby Dick

And my Regulator "friends"

In my dreams I control

The direction and the start

In my dreams the tin man

Always had a heart

Aslan rules in Mordar

Along with Gandalf The Gray

My lion is filled with courage

And the bad guys stay away

Ole Yeller never dies

Lassie always saves the day

On my Prince Edward Island

Matthew lives today

Blanket Moss growing in water.  Staying Weird for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads  and letting Josie know at Two Shoes In Texas that there is order in my chaos.

Thank You, Mr. Spock

In 1966 I was captivated by a new show that was odd for some and revered by many. Being archaeologically minded and having written my first Sci-Fi novella at the age of ten it was a no-brainer that I became a fan.

I could finally escape into a world I KNEW was real.  Bones, Sulu, Lieutenant Uhura, Scottie, Captain Kirk and Commander Spock became my crew in a black and white world.  The first show took us to an archaeological out post and introduced us to the basic characters and the Enterprise's mission.

Many girls swooned over Captain Kirk but I, always wanting to be different, followed Spock's every controlled logical move.

Friday nights, at the age of eleven, became my night for an hour of tv.  Chores, homework, and any extras I may have been required to do were all finished long before the viewing time of 6:30 PM.

For three years I knew women could be in charge, all species are different and may or may not be able to interact peacefully. I learned how to appear emotionless.  I knew I could be a valuable member of this crew daring to go where no man (or woman) had gone before. I became pretty good with the Vulcan Salute but I never mastered the Mind Meld.

I often wondered why it stopped a month before we walked on the moon...

In three short years it was over but then there were reruns! I continued to be a closet Trekkie and watched every episode almost with reverence. Spin offs began and I devoutly followed those along with the movies.

My children were forced to watch Star Trek when we bought our first color tv.  They were not fans like me, a strong dyed-in-the-wool Trekkie.

I attended one movie in the theater with a friend twenty years my junior who was also a rabid fan. The lobby was alive.  People were talking my language!  I knew all the episodes and could converse enjoyably with all who wanted to talk.  The Menagerie was my favorite all time episode.  I felt uplifted and validated.  The lobby was filled with people like me!  Different ages but all with one thought in mind...where would Roddenberry take us next.

When Leonard Nimoy passed an age ended for me.  The shows have lost their luster. Even if Mr. Nimoy was blessed and cursed while being remembered as the half Vulcan Commander of the Star Ship Enterprise, he did great works.  He soldiered, he taught, he wrote poetry and books and acted in plays and produced.

His last tweet to his fans was "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP"

Thank you, Mr Nimoy, for giving wings to my dreams. May those who remain Live Long and Prosper.