Indian Summer returns

It’s hard to believe how warm it’s been the last few days.  One more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  The rain has gone away for a few days, allowing the farmers to harvest again (about one month late).  I can’t believe I have been able to get in three motorcycle rides in one November weekend (counting Thanksgiving day).  Today I even wore my summer jacket (over a sweatshirt, true), though I didn’t ride far.  Actually, I spent a fair amount of time doing slow,tight circles in the parking lot.   Anybody can ride fast in a straight line, but it takes some practice to really get control of the machine.

Often we bemoan the lack of scenery in southeast Missouri.  It’s flat and featureless (unless you count the ditches, which don’t show up until you’re on top of them).  You’re so closed in when you’re driving a car that you don’t realize that what we’ve really got here is tremendous space.  The "wide open spaces" of the great American West are no wider than ours.  You can see for miles.  When you’re out on a motorcycle, you can really appreciate all the space. It makes you feel bigger as a being, no longer constrained to your usual tiny rooms, as though you can reach out across those miles.

Even though it was generally cloudy and overcast today, there was a little sun peeking through.  There was just enough to create a rose-hued background that let you see a few cumulus clouds hovering, as they do in an Andrew Wyeth painting.

Cold weather will be here soon enough, but today I give thanks again for the beautiful weather we have enjoyed.

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