Upon discovering my dead car, I was already running late to meet up for a mall walk with my sister (yes, with the old people on a Saturday morning). The winter grumpiness has already been in full force, and I was pissed. So, I frantically ran inside, garbled some words at my sleeping beau (something to the effect of "I'm stealing your car" - which, for the record, he consented to) and dashed back out into the cold. A minor setback, and I was soon to my destination, gossiping and walking with my sis.
Leaving the mall later, I had a quick stop at the Post Office which put me in a wonderful mood (not even sarcasm: they were super helpful), and was back in the beau's car. It was a chilly but sunny day, and already the temperature had risen about 20 degrees (heat wave!). Everything was turning around and starting to look up. Things only got better when, cruisin' down the highway towards downtown, a mega jam came on the radio: "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship.
I cranked that little hybrid's radio up to full blast and started to belt out lyrics as I maneuvered towards MKE. The slow burn intro verses hit as the skyline was coming fully into view and I got slammed with a wave of emotion. There it was, my town. Full of vibrant, bustling people. Buildings tall enough to give that city vibe, but a place small enough to feel intimate. Small-waukee, where you run into a friend of a friend at the grocery story and spend an hour chatting. That city that gave me a chance to "make it on my own." Where I found my beau and have had some amazing laughs with wonderful friends. There it was, a concrete jungle, glistening in all its glory. Zipping amid highways in the sky, I took the off-ramp towards downtown, hitting the chorus with full vocals. I was literally a Brad Pitt gif with my epic in-car dance moves.
As I hit every single red light on my way through downtown, my full on jamming hit a crescendo. Zero regard for anyone in neighboring cars, I thought about how lucky I've been to find a home here. How lucky to have a man who just lets me take his car to go on a walkabout with my sis at dawn on a weekend. A guy who's supported me and put up with living with me, even in the winter months when I'm arguably only one notch nicer than an angry bear. My heart was beaming as I rolled up to one more stoplight and the bridge of the song ("Oooh, all that I need is you..."). I was excited to get home and tell the beau about my happy moment.
Singing to myself at the light, just past the War Memorial, I noticed that there were an alarming number of geese in the park next to the intersection. There were people walking down the trails who were avoiding that area because of the intimidating swarm. I made a vague mental note that a flock of geese that big was clearly stupid, because they should've long been south by now. The last chorus kicked in as the light turned green. (I was more or less screaming about how we could "build this dream together" by this time and punching my fist into the air like I'd just won the frickin' Breakfast Club.)
As I rolled forward, one of the walkers on the trail veered towards the flock. Small woman that she was, she was trying to restrain what was a very determined tiny dog. To no avail. She lost grip on the leash and the dog took off into the gaggle. Nothing was going to stop that dog now.
It almost seemed to play out in slow motion.... As Starship boomed on into the outro, my singing turned to a loud shrieking as I slammed the brakes and was enveloped with the scattering birds. They knew they needed to escape the dog, but didn't quite calculate what elevation they could reach in a matter of feet before clashing with the road. Flopping all about, the geese skimmed across the hood/top of the car. A flurry of feathers and avian adrenaline surrounded me.
And then... it was over. The geese were lollygagging about trying to return to the park. The dog had been tackled and restrained by his owner. And I was free to drive again. My screaming ended with the fade out of the song, and I carried on home (where I quickly evaluated my beau's car for damage / feathers - and luckily didn't find either present). By the time I got into our apartment, the warm and fuzzies had mostly faded, as I returned to preparations for the day. Cleaning, planning logistics for the two surprise parties we were to attend that day, and other adult nonsense. I fully left the Starship, and settled back into my winter blues for a bit until I had to ramp back up for socializings.
Later, I did explain to the beau about the geese, pointing out that I did NOT hit any birds with his car, and that the birds effectively hit ME. He laughed, gave me a forehead kiss and gave me his typical "oh you" look. I grinned. The warm and fuzzies (which usually hide in the winter) came right back. This world that I found is too good to be true. Dead cars, rogue dogs and crazy geese... Let the world around us just fall apart. But baby, we can make it!
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| Let 'em say we're crazy, what do they know? |
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