That One’s Important

In traffic, of course.  A day in from Shunyi to Zhongguancun, to Wangjing to Wucaicheng to Chaoyangmenwai and back to Shunyi.  Di Di made good money today.  The earliest journey began on a bike though, at 6:00AM.  Vexed, it was really 6:10AM.  Leaving late.  This morning was sixteen degrees Fahrenheit.  Can always be colder but with the wind and the dark that was plenty chilly. 

Up ahead at the new light they put in not long ago, it is broken.  It’s the sort of light that is propped up on the ground and looks and now acts temporary. Why didn’t they just hang one like they do everywhere else?  It hasn’t been there for more than four months and the easterly directional red light, doesn’t work.  There are only three colors to a traffic light and that one’s important. Furthermore and as mentioned earlier, they struck a water main when they installed this thing.  There is a regular puddle that's formed, as a result and it is, per the temperature, quite frozen.  China can sometimes seem indomitable when it comes to infrastructure.  And then other times, rather less so. 

Always warmer returning home from the gym.  The sun's made its modest arrival.  The heart has been pumping.  I could hear the crowd roar as I hopped on my bicycle and tried to discern who it was that was warming up.  There’s a grunt around the same time one hears a bass tuning and I knew then it was The Who at Hull opening up a set with “Heaven and Hell.”  That’ll make you pedal harder.  Thinking of John Entwistle and his comment that the rest of the band could never play his songs correctly. Pete comes in so convincingly though, when it’s his turn to solo, as I pass by the gate to Yosemite.

Rolling along past the damn over the frozen, fetid creek, considering the sun coming up over Rivergarden to the east, “Young and Innocent Days” by the Kinks came on and I allowed the beautiful dawn light to welcome the slow, sentimental mood for this transition.  Listening to Ray’s “sugar coated” description I thought of how much Pete Townsend really adored and respected Ray Davies.  I imagined them talking and perhaps even flirting, in mutual appreciation. 

It felt really wonderful to step inside at home and feel the heat and begin to remove layers and I took a moment to be grateful for having access to heat and how easy it was to leave the cold behind.

Tuesday, 01/15/19