Wild Card
It was a good rainy day drive. Weather prohibited hiking the “Tangariro Crossing,” not too disapointing since I’d only heard of it the night before. Instead, it was a day for listening to pleasant melancholy tunes and thinking thoughts that only seemed deep because of the clouds.
When I left town, I didn’t bother to check where the next stop would be. Not so smart considering the car had less than 1/4 tank of gas and Gerti is not my Toyota (which refused to run out of gas, even with the needle sleeping on E for miles). So hill after vacant hill, the needle sunk heavily and I began to get worried. It was rainy, the road was windy and two-way, no shoulder. I tried distracting myself with other thoughts….I reflected on the night when an event driver let me jump on his bus for an $80 sold-out Maori show/dinner and afterward quietly informed me “not to worry” about paying for the ticket. Also began listing all the different ways these two scenarios and their outcomes could be explained. Quite a list, maybe the basis for a Cosmo quiz? “How do you explain why things happen and does that actually change what happens next?”
***Is it “luck,” that ameobic word for things that turn out well or just don’t
***It is superstition, where crossing my fingers or my eyes somehow stretches the gas or shrinks the road?
***Is it a guardian angel or God looking out for me?
***Is it attitude? If I am a pessimist and think I’ll get stuck, I will; I assume it turns out fine, so it does
***Is it strictly science and facts—enough fuel is either present to inject into the engine and turn the wheels, or it’s not and that’s that
***How about “karma”—I’m rewarded for being a good person through free tickets and free from harm; the hitchhiker I didn’t pick up means thumbing it in the rain for me
***Maybe it’s fate and the day was written regardless of what I did or didn’t do
Turns out of course, I rolled into the next town, fuel light in bright hysterics, apparently narrowly missing a tragic ending. Lucky? Well, does it change things if less than an hour down the road I got my first NZ speeding ticket for $120? Hah! Now is that irony, behavioral consequence, or just bad luck. 😛
Sidenote: After this, Gerti and I made a pact: I agree to fund her expensive drinking habit more regularly if she agrees to keep us both rolling forward….but not too quickly.
Tags: New Zealand
bimpy_ak
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