The Thursday before Good Friday;
a snarl-up at Staples Corner.
There was me, Great Aunt Maisie,
and my two pre-school brats.
We’d already done ‘I-Spy’ to death –
were on the fifth rendition of,
‘There Was an Old Woman
Who Swallowed a Fly’,
when she says,
“Stroke of luck – this traffic jam.
Selfish of me, of course,
but with time on my hands –
your Uncle Jack gone and all,
days meander, one into the other.
If you catch my drift?”
Driving her back home,
after two long weeks at ours,
I’d been counting down the minutes.
“Yes indeed, Aunt. I know what you mean.”
I didn’t. How could I?
A traffic-jam, hardly my idea of heaven;
admittedly though, Great Aunt Maisie was always
ever so slightly mad.
To be frank, how I envied what she had.
The quiet life was what I longed for;
one where I was free to come and go –
to please myself at my leisure.
Twenty years later, travelling that road alone,
only then did I understand.
Comments
SteveM | June 9, 2009 - 07:28
Hi Tina... Staples Corner, that takes me back. I was a teenager driving the 'group' van back from a gig. Braked too hard and one of the rear wheels parted company with the axle. Fortunately at 2.00 am the road was nearly deserted and so the only damage was to the van and my pride.
Your pieces are always so intimate and readable (invariably several times).
Steve
Ewan | June 9, 2009 - 07:38
What you don't say in the final couplet, is what marks this one out.
'ours' and 'minutes' as consecutive line breaks, almost a pun; deliberate or no, I liked it.
Regards
Ewan
sarah wilson | June 9, 2009 - 07:38
Oh I understand this perfectly! I sat on the M40 in a jam the other day and remembered how stressed I would have been a few years earlier. Time is a strange thing- you either have it or you don't, there's no inbetween. When you don't have it you want more and vice versa. Sarah x
jennifer | June 9, 2009 - 07:57
Ditto what Ewan said. Really felt this one, excellent stuff! Although traffic jams still aggravate me, esp on the way home - I can sit on my boat and do nothing for hours, but like the car to keep moving!
J x
Jupiter | June 9, 2009 - 08:23
Nice story Tina. I think I understand. My advice if you're looking (which I'm sure you're not lol) ;) - get as far away from Staples Corner as you can, preferably where the sun shines and good company is plentiful ;D, before the next 20 years pass by (so quickly, don't I know it! ;( ). Hope to bump into you having fun there. ;)
Congratulations on the cherry. Hope you're enjoying the Gasm ;)
(Oops! Got out of sequence again! Sorry!)
threeleafshamrock | June 9, 2009 - 09:57
Nice piece Tina; finds me sitting in the house on my own, not a sound anywhere. Feels great at the moment but long term, I would miss the screams and the fights and the homework; the kids. Loved this piece - as usual, well done!
Chris XX
anipani | June 9, 2009 - 18:03
this resonated with me too. Humorous and poignant. Nice!
MistakenMagic | June 9, 2009 - 19:01
This is brilliant Tina! Such an explosive end - very well done on a well-deserved cherry!
Magic xxx
sunshine | June 9, 2009 - 21:28
excellent, and moving in a very gentle way - if that makes sense. Perhaps Ewan said it better. Anyway a well earned cherry. Margot
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 10:40
For once...I am totally speechless. And...don't mention CherryGasm's. They do have the tendency to make me smile;-)
Tina X
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 10:43
Hello there, Steve. My thanks to you for reading.
That's quite some hair-raising memory you have there. You were very lucky and I expect you probably learned a lot through that experience. What life's all about, I guess.
Glad you enjoyed sharing my memories too;-)
Tina
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 10:48
Know what you mean, Ewan...about the final couplet I mean. Less is more in many instances, especially where writing is concerned.
The 'ours' and 'minutes' thing is interesting. I wasn't sure anyone would pick it up. Might of known you would, of course;-) Originally that line read:-
'...counting down the hours'. The rest is history, as they say.
Glad you liked it.
Tina
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 10:52
Indeed, Sarah. I think, if we're honest, we have all 'been there, done that'. And you are so right in what you say about time.
Thanks for reading and for sharing your experience too.
Tina x
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 10:59
Hi there Jennifer. You know I often sit and think about what it must be like to live on a boat, as you do. Wonderful, I should imagine and as you say, time takes on a new dimension on the waterways.
Odd then, how we feel this sense of urgency whenever we get behind the wheel of a car. Funny lot,
us humans;-)
My thanks to you for reading and I am glad you enjoyed it.
Tx
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 11:04
Jupiter - you can get out of sequence as often as you like, as far as I'm concerned at any rate;-)
Glad you enjoyed my tale of yesteryear.
I certainly do take a wide berth of Staples Corner these days and who knows, one day I just might 'bump into you' doing exactly the same thing:-)
And yes, thank you...this Gasm is particularly enjoyable and extremely flavoursome. A 'Morello' variety I shouldn't wonder.
Tina
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 11:10
Hello, Chris! I wonder if your peace has been shattered yet;-)
I can so identify with you. I remember with my girls when they were playing upstairs, I used to put up with the noise until it got to a certain level and then, boy oh boy, did I let rip!! Their favourite game was dressing up as ballerinas and prancing around to 'The Nutcracker Suite'. 'The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' was much more like 'The Dance of the Fairy Elephant'!!
Ah...those were the days, my friend;-)
Tina xx
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 11:11
Glad you could identify with this one, anipani and my thanks to you for letting me know you enjoyed it.
Tina
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 11:12
Magic - thank you for that;-) Glad you liked it.
Tina xxxx
Silver Spun Sand | June 10, 2009 - 11:16
Margo - I cannot imagine you ever not making sense...if that makes sense;-)
Thank you for reading and letting me know, in the nicest possible way, that you enjoyed it.
Tina