Autumn arrives
When I moved to California, one of my stated
reasons was the desire to drop out of the march of the seasons, that living in
London for so many years had given me my fill of autumn and winter. From now on
you could keep them, and maybe spring too, just as long as I had summer.
When I moved to California, one of my stated
reasons was the desire to drop out of the march of the seasons, that living in
London for so many years had given me my fill of autumn and winter. From now on
you could keep them, and maybe spring too, just as long as I had summer. That
may have been true for the first year, but the past few weeks I've been missing
the seasons. That feeling you get stepping outside on a cold autumn evening,
that first breath of frigid air that shocks your lungs and has you wrap your
scarf a little tighter, or pull your hat down a little further. Well, I think
I've got my wish. Some of the trees have shed their leaves, the skies are grey
and it rained last night.
I sometimes
take stick from people over my love affair with the motorcar. Last night was
the first session of the last GP of the year, the season finale at Suzuka in
Japan. Gavin and Kirk did their best to ask irritating questions, and I
endured, wondering how I'd cope with the months between Saturday night and the
start of the new season, 5 long months away. There's just something about the
combination of four wheels and an engine that touches something in my soul.
My drive to work continues to be one of
the sole benefits of the move to San Marcos. I don't mean the horrendous
traffic that takes me 80 minutes to fight through in the evenings. Instead of
joining the I-5 and seeing how high I can raise my blood pressure, I've found a
lovely route through Rancho Santa Fe, allegedly the most expensive part of the
country to live in. The roads are single lane, twisty and undulate through this
scenic area of horse ranches, lemon groves and secluded houses. If I'm lucky,
I'll not get stuck behind a gardener's truck or a soccer mom in her SUV for too
long, and I can throw myself around the corners just the right side of sticking
it in a hedge. Or, I can wait for it to rain. Injudicious use of the right
peddle brought with it that lightness in the steering, and rumble from just
behind me. My heart would leap, and the car would squirm and slide before
regaining grip. Now, before you fire off an angry email to me telling me to
knock it off, bear in mind that I wasn't going fast; taking off at a stop sign
in 1st gear: wheelspin. 2nd gear corner, 20 mph slower than normal: the back
steps out. Hooligan antics at learner speeds. Thank goodness for autumn. I
might even be able to start wearing my scarf again.
Posted: Fri - October 10, 2003 at 01:29 pm