cars

zen of an american road trip /  by admin

©2011 gary garbett.com

Taking a road trip is one of my favorite things in the world. I'm sure it harkens back to the days of my childhood when my family would pack up the station wagon and journey through America. With my father's career as a Navel Officer, we did our share of long distance road travels every couple of years, in addition to our countless summer vacations of camping. I have vivid memories of viewing the country from the backseat of Dad's authentic Detroit made automobiles, especially his 1968 turquoise Gran Torino. With the windows rolled down and the wind whipping in a little faster than the posted highway speed, it was spectacular.

We made the 4000 mile plus drive across the entire United States from coast to coast at least four times, including a 1300 mile jaunt along the Alaska Highway, back when it was just a two-lane gravel and dirt road and long before there was ever a thought of paving it. We reached our destination late that summer in Anchorage searching for the ferry departure to Kodiak and for a carwash to remove the heavy coating of red clay covering Dad's Ford.

Seeing America from the road has always been a Zen like experience for me. I find a centering peace in the miles of memory, beauty, and the numerous hand painted signs for Mom and Pop type stores that read "just ahead".

waiting on the aliens /  by admin

©2011 gary garbett.com

I can't recall the last time I had Thai food. Tonight was the night to correct my memory. After my share of garden salads and ripened tomatoes topping nearly everything I've prepared at home for several weeks, with exception to my morning bran and banana, another dinner option was a welcoming treat. Our dishes of Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao were damn fine. No, wait. They were really damn fine. Dessert was served a few hours later. I had Steely Dan spinning on my turntable and a resting bottle of Odoul's Amber sweating on my desk, just inches from my laptop.

We also had new furniture delivered earlier today, making this as grand a day as Christmas... minus those embarrassing bad gift moments or any electronic caroling plastic nativity scenes. The soft, comfortable matching leather sofa and sitting chair make the entire room smell like forty brand new pairs of Doc Marten's and the catcher's mit I had when I was a kid. That leather glove always smelled so good. Probably because I hardly ever used it. None of my sketch books, records, or transistor radios ever smelled as good as that old mit, but I also didn't need another person to enjoy them either.
Steely Dan asks, "Where did you get those shoes?" If anyone ever asked me, I'd have to tell them the truth. Thrift store... three bucks! With all the money I've saved over the years, someday I'll be able to afford to furnish our house with fancy furniture and dine at some of the finest restaurants in town.

Now seems like the perfect time to flip the record over, drop the needle on side two, and wipe up the sweat from that gorgeous brown bottle.

slow ride, fast car /  by admin

I've always had a facination for cars. Always.
Today my morning commute looked exactly like this: dress slacks, blue oxford button down, Doc Martens, black Wayfarers, Mini Cooper S, 24 oz. freshly ground coffee, NPR morning news, and KISS ALIVE! at high volume complete with numerous hand gestures, lip pouts, and loud sing alongs. Maturity and education have finally crossed paths. This is exactly how I pictured my middle age would be. Rock on!