This is one of my favorites, largely because of the memories it has preserved of a young family taking affordable outings. We were living in Northern Illinois at the time, and Marengo was one of our favorite destinations.
Memories of those outings were still "rotating on the carousel of my mind" as Phyllis and I returned from a now-rare outing, a trip out of town.
Traffic had thinned a bit (all the trucks, buses and cars of the world had gone zip-zip-zipping past us ... because I always poke along at the posted speed limit).
During those few moments when we had only the humming of our own car's tires to keep us company, my thoughts drifted toward those summertime outings.
What delicious memories! I had no choice. I had to dig out "Driving to Marengo" and share it with you again today:
DRIVING TO MARENGO
We urged the old station wagon
along curving country roads
toward that place just across
from the school, to consume
those remarkable foot-long
hotdogs with chili peppers
and onions, dripping mustard
and juices, filling the air
with an aroma that lingered
all the slow, dark drive home,
and for days afterward,
like a spirit moving softly
among us, implanting memories
still turning, slowly rotating
on the carousel of my mind.
© 1998
(originally published in Raintown Review)
***
Today's word:
deliciousAfterthoughts ... in response to your comments:
I'm glad you liked the carousel image, Helen ... and the photo of the Black-Eyed Susans. And I liked the imagery you shared of that country road bordered by flowers ... I've seen a few like that, but it's been a long time. I wouldn't fret about typos, Helen. I'm sure that even Professor Squigglee makes his share of them.
3 comments:
I do like your "carousel of my mind". It is just that, and sometimes moves very fast and other times, almost in slow motion...not always our own choice.
I also love the photo of the black-eyed-Susans...if they aren't that, I don't want to know it. One of my favorite memories is when I took a back road to get to my destination, All the ground was covered with Black-eyed Susans, including on the dirt edge of the road and up against the woods. I went up to Southern Illinois to help a friend move and was on one of the rounds from Carbondale to Desoto and back... I was tired...had also run over a skunk the evening before...but on that back road and I forgot all the other problems...even the smell of the skunk. I found there are roads I'd never taken there...or if I had, it was at a different unremembered, in between season. I knew the direction I was going would take me onto the highway...and was almost sorry to reach it. I think of all the other times back home and in the towns around that had so many lovely wild flowers, but there's nothing like the picture above.
Thanks, Helen
PS...I just lost the note I wrote...into the land where lost emails go...must be a packed place.
I just want you folks to know that I do know that it is "had run"...not run. This involved the skunk. I must have deleted it.
Helen
Wrong place to get Phylis to come and play out in the rain with us and fly kites on the beach--or be beach kite flyers...flying on the kite. A guy got across the knocked gainst a hotel several times.He never knew it because he was was knocked out I'll talk to you soon. Tomorrow will be better
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