I knew I wanted to start a new blog to mark the updates in my life. In ten days I will pack up everything I can in my car. I will sell, trash, or donate the rest. I will point the car east. I will move my life to Baltimore, MD. I will begin again.
I want to chronicle my journey across the country. I have always wanted to do this. I enjoy travelling alone. That said, my car is not exactly a paragon of mechanical fitness. It should be...interesting.
Along the way I will relate some of the reasons for this move. Some of them will be funny. Some of them will be sad. All of them will be mine.
I have been kicking blog ideas around for a while. I wasn't sure what to title it. I wanted it to somehow reflect the upheaval in my life.
As I drove to work the other day, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" came on the radio. The last verse has always been a source of strength for me. But on this particular day I found myself in tears as I sang out the lyrics.
In the clearing stands a boxer
and a fighter by his trade,
and he carries the reminders
of every glove that laid him down
or cut him til he cried out
in his anger and his shame:
I am leaving, I am leaving!
but the fighter still remains
I imagine that many more embarrassing car moments will ensue. I am an idiot in the car.
What is it about a block of metal, sheathed in windows, that makes us feel like we are invisible? Raise your hands if you have ever danced, sang, cried, or picked your nose in the car.
...that's what I thought.
