Today I looked into the Crystal Ball

 

GG with #3, Christmas 2008

My family's Great Grandmother "GG" passed away several months ago.  She was a spitfire woman who never seemed to slow down.  She survived cancer, removal of a lung, and a stroke.  She had 20 lives, and lived each one with Verve.  One time, she wrote a letter to the president of the Dominican Republic because she felt the service in the airport was subpar.  She owned a house in Casa De Campo.  The president wrote a letter back, personally apologizing for the err of his ways.  When GG spoke, you listened, and sometimes bowed down.

This past week, I was reminded of GG in a rather funny way.  About 12 years ago, I was apartment/house hunting for a place to live with hubby.  GG still had her real estate license, and offered to show us some apartments for rent around the Greenwich area.  When I went to meet GG to apartment hunt, much to my chagrin, 77 year old GG told me to step away from my car, as she was driving.  So, I parked my sporty car, with air bags and safety features, and hopped into GG's boat:  An oldsmobuick cadillac type boat, with no modern accoutrements.

At 77, GG didn't turn her head to back out of parking spaces, never went near the 25 mile per hour speed limit, and certainly didn't check before changing lanes.  Who could bother, right?? That shit hurts when your older.  Besides, the oldsmobuick cadillac screams "ELDERLY DRIVING, GET OUT OF MY WAY", and that's just what people did--- Not without letting their feelings be known, usually in the form a a bird. Since GG didn't turn her head much, she never saw these expressions of communication, and nor do I think she would have cared.  And perhaps her hearing wasn't quite what it once was, because she never seemed to notice the horns, either.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss, right? I held on for the ride, prayed, and made it out alive.  GG had that driver's license until she was 86, when her stroke took away some freedoms, and even though that ride scared the shit out of me, more power to her.....

This past week, I had the displeasure of driving a car with a donut tire:

The first time was last weekend, 60 miles round trip, to a tire warehouse to replace the tire.  Because I am in Vermont, and they apparently haven't heard of Mercedes Benz here (nor the tires that go along with it), I had to take the donut around for another spin back to The Coop.  I ventured out a second time today to get a new tire.  I drove it 78 miles to have it fixed in NY state where, apparently, they have heard of Mercedes Benz.  My quest was successful and the car now has four matching tires:

The process of driving with a donut, especially in snow, is a slow one.  A process which, apparently, Vermonters, New Yorkers, and New Jersians have little patience for.  At 40 MPH, in a 50 MPH zone, the birds were set free!!  Right out of their pick up trucks, SUVs, VW sedans, Hondas, you name it, birds birds birds, oh my!  Last week, when I should have been skiing in newly fallen snow, I was driving the donut benz to the background of birds and horns.  I decided to channel GG.  I mean, if she could deal, so could I.  I am not a road rager, so hey, why not laugh?  And laugh I did! Perhaps it doesn't sound funny, but the thought of me driving under a speed limit is, and the thought of people getting angry about it, well I was truly laughing so hard, I almost cried. It didn't hurt that I was on the phone (hands free of course) with my HILARIOUS roommate from high school, and she enjoyed the bird procession as much as I did.

Today, I was almost giddy with excitement of the prospect of driving 78 miles with the donut.  I have good karma, and didn't think about the fact the 50 mile donut had over 80 miles on it.  All I could do was anticipate seeing more birds and hearing more horns.  And people did not disappoint. I decided to keep track of the origins of the birds, like an anthropological experiment.  The break down is as follows:
New York State (only on the Vermont side):  6 Birds and one horn
New Jersey: 3 birds, no horns, BUT, lots of passing on double yellow lines, an added treat!
Vermont: 1 double yellow line passer, no bird, but this one was was my favorite, because the Vermont license plate read, "FNWYPARK"  -- HOW APROPOS for this die hard Yankees fan.

As I was passed, birded, and honked, I imagined myself a little old lady, with grey blond hair, and eyes just over the dashboard.  I felt I was looking into my blissfully ignorant future: a future with a drivers license, birds, horns, and occasional Red Sox fans.......It made the moment even happier, GG was by my side!