I am most comfortable on the road. Something about the security of a car and the openness of highways calms my nerves. I am able to extricate myself from my own head and rest my inner monologue. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes or an hour, I liken it to a good night of sleep. So today I ventured down to Princeton, New Jersey. I wasn’t looking to spend much money at the Record Exchange, I just wanted to find a couple items I might be able to turn around and sell. Also, I’d get to be in my car for an hour in each direction. I could push bad thoughts aside and focus on…well, Norm Macdonald was on Howard Stern for a few minutes…and the rest of the time was I just kind of zoned out in a euphoric way. Like I was on tranquilizers without being on tranquilizers. Also, this happened. That is to say, I was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Old Post Road and Route 1 in Edison when, “…witnesses said two men stopped the green car at the intersection of Route 1 and Old Post Road and fled on foot. Police fired at least one shot at a fleeing suspect who was apprehended behind the Grease Monkey oil change business.” It was fucking insane! All of a sudden, as I’m driving up to the stop light, I start seeing flashing lights approaching from the opposite direction. Then suddenly five unmarked cars sped towards the Grease Monkey. Within seconds, a number of black SUVs approached. I counted at least a dozen standard police vehicles in the Grease Monkey and adjacent parking lot. It lasted as long as two red lights, but it was certainly an awesome scene to behold.
Princeton was relatively boring. It was warm and sunny when I parked and pouring rain when I returned from taking a piss at Panera Bread. My thoughts momentarily shifted to the shitty weather, which reminded me of the shitty week I’ve had, but after sprinting a few blocks I once again returned to the relative security of my vehicle. If driving in general is akin to popping some Soma, driving through thunderstorms is a Dilaudid/Fentanyl cocktail. Pure light and magic and warmth and ease. I don’t think a single thought crossed my mind for the entire 50 mile trip.
Dinner was a half-portion of tortellini boscaiola. Not enough appetite to finish the entire dish. My thoughts vacillated and I could not pay attention to much of the conversation. Afterwards, Jack and Ken stopped by to help me out with my blog post for WFMU, then we watched (or in my case, re-watched) last night’s episode of LOST. They didn’t seem as into it as I was…but, well…who is? As the night drew to a close, I suddenly realized that tomorrow is my last full day on the east coast. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I don’t even know anymore.
Bert Jansch – Rambling’s Gonna Be The Death Of Me
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Little Wail
The Timeout Drawer – Broad Grins From The Boarding Ship
16 Horsepower – Flutter
Pearls Before Swine – I Saw The World
