Calera, Alabama
A note on the floor read: “Good morning, Sam. Could you take
my black car and drive to Little Caesar’s and pick up 3 pepperoni cheese $5
dollar pizzas? Turn right out the driveway, then left at the stop sign into
town and after 3 lights it’ll be on your right. We’ll be back around 11:30.” A
crisp $100 sat next to Donna’s car keys. At 11:00 I bounced out the door and
sat behind the wheel of a car for the first time in 8 ½ months. It was
exhilarating. Windows rolled down and music on, I sped off to town, noting
landmarks as I went so as not to get lost on the way back. I’d forgotten how
liberating it was to drive. Cars are extremely fast. I wonder if I’ll ever be
impatient again in a car. The whole thing reminded me of California where it
seems like all we do is drive with our windows down. And eat burritos; that’s
something I realized is very distinctly Californian, the burritos.
I secured the pizzas without incident and managed to call
several people in the interim. Sprint has a terrible
cell network in Alabama. Back at the house, Donna, Haleigh, Sandy, Nancy, Linda
and another woman were waiting and we ate lunch together. Afterwards, I
finished Breaking Bad at last. What an epic show! It’s taken me a long time to
finish the series because of its brutal intensity. I had to stop watching it
twice, once after the second season and again after the fourth. What most
people—myself included—find riveting is the transformation of Walt, the main
character, from being a good, decent man to the kingpin of a meth empire. His precipitous
fall drags out over five seasons and I’m still unsure at which point his noble
intentions of providing for his family turned into ruinous ambition.
Haleigh and I fed the horses in the evening again and I
returned to my illustrious role of flashlight bearer. As Haleigh was mixing the
horse feed, I sampled some of their electrolytes and garlic powder for some
reason. I blame Haleigh. She talked me into it.
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