Sentimental Journey

            Saturday while I was driving from Normalville, Pennsylvania to Ohiopyle, I began to have nudges of sentimentality that edged on nostalgia. It began as I neared the metal truss bridge that spanned Indian Creek. It was no longer there. The new bridge is simply a two lane road with the bridge hidden beneath the concrete. There’s no longer the feeling of crossing the stream on a bridge. The smooth crossing is nice, but the feeling of nostalgia seeped into my brain. There was the emptiness of losing something familiar; another memory of my childhood had passed away.

            No longer would there be difficulties with two large trucks passing on it. There would be less of a chance that the overhead girders would be struck by a truck with its bed accidentally raised, by a too tall vehicle or one with a high load. The metal superstructure was now gone and carted away.

            I’ve driven this road many times, but that day everything seemed more intense and impending. I could almost feel each tree pressing close on both sides of the winding road. Oak, beech, maple, then pines and hemlock sped past my car windows peering in at me. Hardwood trees were nearly bare, their dark limbs a reminder that winter was hovering near. The evergreens darkened and deepened the mood.

            Winter has never been my favorite season. Part of it was the necessity of keeping my driveway clear of snow to go to work and then to drive on the roadways with other people who have no idea how to maneuver a car on an icy snow covered surfaces. I don’t believe I was created to live in frigid weather with winds whipping around me, up my pant-legs, and through my clothing.

            A few years ago in 2015, I tried to embrace my least favorite season and purchased a set of cross country skis, poles, and boots. I made several circuits of my yard over several days before the ice in my drive put an end to all of that. I guess it was winter’s retaliation. The ice caused me to slip and fall, hitting my head. I have no recollection of the fall or most of the following five hours. My visit to the emergency room, all of the tests, scans, and x-rays are buried somewhere in my brain. What they did reveal was that I had two bleeds in my brain, a subdural and a subarachnoid. I was hospitalized overnight. That put a stop on my skiing. Winter is still my least favorite season.