• Location: The Olympia Condo
• Mood: good
• Music: Summer Lightning - Garnet Rogers

Clearing The Mind

The Northwest has two seasons -- Summer and Crappy.  Summer runs from about June to sometime in October.  Crappy covers October to June.  Occasionally "Winter" happens for a few weeks or a month.  I actually find the last few months/weeks of Crappy to be the worst.   This has been the worst "Crappy" in a long time.  The wetness just won't stop, and we've gone days without seeing the sun.   I prefer to get my Vitamin D the natural way -- sunshine and fresh air, preferably on the back of a motorcycle.  Alas, I'm getting my Vitamin D the same way most Northwesterners do -- in a big plastic bottle from the Costco vitamin aisle.

Last Friday was a spectacular day as the sun was actually out -- but unfortunately was unable to enjoy it as the Legislative session slogs on.  Budget crisis do wonderful things -- and bring out the crazy folks en mass.  On Friday some 6,000 union goons decided they'd missed out on all the "fun" in Wisconsin this year so decided to occupy the capitol, pound on drums, chant and march around the rotunda with bagpipes.  Being a Scotsman, I love the bagpipes -- but not in a marble chamber where echos are the predominant noise.   All that cacophony of sound gave me a massive headache.  The 2.5 hour drive 60 miles back to Seattle didn't help, and the weekend wend downhill from there.

Today it started out nice - blue skies that cleared up for the most part except for a small cloud that hung literally over the capitol itself and rained on the campus while we could see blue skies all around.  Only in Olympia would a small cloud of doom hover over the legislature like Dilbert has in the comic strip.  My back and feet ache from standing on hard marble floors for weeks, and I've put maybe 100 miles total on ta motorcycle since the first of the year.   I needed to get out, and fortunately later in the day it cleared off nicely and so was actually able to go out for a short putt.

 

Something about heading away from the Capitol with my fists in the wind, West towards the sunset was all it took to clear my mind -- even if it was for only 25 miles or so.  I feel 100% better, and relaxed and at peace.   Such a simple solution.   Why can't all of life's troubles be solved by a ride on a motorcycle?   Come to think of it, who says they can't?   Maybe I'll have to just try and see.