Alison’s mother suffered a stroke Monday night and so this morning, I drove her down to her sister’s in Cincinnati. It was a long trip with I-75 squeezing three narrow lanes between abutments in a construction zone that stretched through Dayton and a good part of the way to Cincinnati. In this part of the Ohio River Valley, settlements and streets followed the ridge lines and it is often quite possible to not know where you are.  I wasn’t real certain where I was when we left I-75 to get to Alison’s sister’s house, but, yes, I-74 did lead to Montana which led to Boudinot which led to the street her sister lives on. It’s just there were many intersections and often a four lane street would become a two lane with parking lanes. So, while watching the street signs I had to make certain I didn’t whomp right into a parked car. It’s not like they were lined up – just here and there. Little signs announced parking lane when it occurred.

Then when I backed out of the driveway, I did get lost. I had no idea where I was and was very tired with squinty little eyes so I adopted a driving style known as “go with the lights and the flow” and eventually I saw the downtown skyline of the city. I knew I had not crossed the Ohio River  so I was somewhat concerned but as I flowed along I found myself crossing a valley filled with railroad tracks.

Do you know that the downtown streets in this old river city are very narrow? Yes, they are. A lot are one way. I knew I-71 had to be out there somewhere and just a little north of Mount Adams I caught up with it. I could have just followed it to 275 and then 75 but I thought, “I know there is a Crate & Barrel here and I can do this without wrecking the car.” And I did.  That lifted my spirits a lot.

I decided I’d stop by my friend Joan’s house but she wasn’t there so I called her phone and left a message to look on her patio where I had written my name in the snow. This pretty much convinces me that if you are born a little odd, you are probably going to die that way. I guess I could have left a note stuck on the door – but the snow thing . . . it was so AmeliaJake. You know once Joan was riding in the passenger seat and looked out her window and asked if the double yellow line was supposed to be on her side? Yeah, I think we were lost then too.

Then I took the wrong exit on 675 and re-enacted a previous Fairborn excursion just like the one we had in the dark of night coming back from Kings Island and my duel with death on the Diamondback, followed by the unceremonious hurling on White Water Canyon.

I am now sitting on the sofa in the Ohio Redoubt with my feet on the coffee table and I am drinking Coke and Diet Coke in my new Krosno Made in Poland glass. I also have a Made in Mexico and Made in Turkey glass. Maybe next time I go there, I will get a collection of many countries – but not China – China is scary. Oh, by the way, this was a really upscale Crate & Barrel – I sort of felt like a frump going in and coming out, but I got my stuff  so HA! The San Diego store was more casual – it cried for you to come in and buy mismatched glasses.

I wonder if my rambling is an extension of my tendency to get vaguely lost in certain areas. I mean I am not really ever LOST; I’m just a little not certain of the GPS coordinates sometimes. I am pausing to think about this. Maybe I’ll get an aspirin as well.