Bring Me the Arc Welder

Here's a blast from the past for you. Some of my longer-term readers may remember these charmers from the blog in its previous incarnation, prior to the Great Movable Type Crash of 2007 which rendered my older posts inaccessible.

I was sifting through some photos on my Other Computer last night, looking for ones I'd like to get enlarged for my living room (gotta have the Smoothies, right?), and came upon these fellows, and thought you might enjoy seeing them again (or for the first time). One of my favorite pics ever.

Anyway, several things occur to me this morning, so in no particular order....

It would be really swell, some days, to have a stainless steel heart.

It's not that everything (or maybe even anything) is irretrievably vanished into hell-in-a-handbasket territory - perhaps far from it (fucked if I know - I can't see clearly). But damn am I tired of having that wrung out feeling, like somebody's been having at this ol' heart of mine with a mess of 60-grit sandpaper.

And I had the ill fortune to end up being designated photographer last night, so now I have a series of horribly charming photos of the boy in question all over my computer like a lust-inducing infestation.

Got on my fast bike last night and rode faster and harder than I think I've ever ridden in my life. It was like I'd suddenly become a racehorse and HAD TO RUNNNNNNNN.

Couldn't help it. I was actually delighted when I was finally alone so I could peel out and ride as fast as I wanted to. Rainy empty streets, the sound of chain (time for a little lube, I think), my legs yanking the pedals around so hard I could feel my tendons pulling. I growled and roared as I went. I'm sure the spectacle was on the hilarious side, who gives a damn, really?

One block away from home, I have to wait at a light for traffic to clear and start to fall asleep sitting on my top tube. Then I start out again, and suddenly it's as if someone's thrown a brick wall in front of me. All of it catches up with me, the wrenching exhaustion, the frustration, the anxiety. Get home.

Photos, cat. Big noise right at our open window and both cat and I rush to it and stick our heads out, together, heads bumping into each other, "What's that? what's that?"

Then she head-butts me, as if to say, "Oh, you're helping me guard the castle tonight? I'm glad!"

Me too, sweetie, me too.