Beyond Gravity

Posted on June 20, 2006 in Driving

Last night’s lecture and the late sunset made me manic. I’ll go into the details there, but for now, I’ll share this:

On the way back from the lecture (Lynn drove), we found ourselves on the stretch of road between Irvine Lake and the Silverado cutoff. This passes through wild country, grassland cropped by deer and chaparral. It begins as nearly a straight shot from the lake to a heavy steel bridge used by gravel trucks. Local underground artists use it as a poster wall.

After the road enters a short-lengthed arbor of live oaks before breaking out in more grassland and mixed chaparral. (There’s a lovely patch of Matilija poppies just the other side of Santiago Creek.) At a slight rise, I felt as if we were climbing into the cool night. I wanted the car to ignore the downhill slope and keep going up to the stars*.

Perhaps we should have stopped so I could stargaze, pretending to be an astronomer who knew none of the constellations, who invented his own name for each.

*In Boundaries of the Soul, June Singer tells of a woman who dreamed that she went out on a balcony to watch the stars. The balcony broke away and started to rise. Singer decided not to pursue dreamwork with the woman, fearing that this signaled a psychotic break. You decide.

This manic moment does sound like that doesn’t it?