Lucky Duck

There is a bumper sticker popular in Texas that I found rather amusing. It reads: I wasn't born here but I got here as fast as I could. I found that ironic considering I didn't find a whole lot to run to Texas for...at least the part of Texas where I was. There are some very nice parts in that fair state, but it's nothing that I've ever had a hankering for.

Charlottesville? Now that's another matter. It has felt like home to me since I first came to school here in the mid 70's. I used to take that turn off of I-95 onto I-64 and feel like I was in the home stretch. I love my mom's house in an old section of Norfolk. It's very urban and hip and there are great places to shop and eat within walking distance. But for my money I'll take my little cottage in the hills outside of Charlottesville.

It may not be convenient to get to things. God knows you can't walk to town from here...although some nutters bike it on these winding country roads. But it's our little piece of heaven on earth.

When my friends from Norfolk ask when I'm going to move back I just think of my morning commute and theirs. No question. Mine wins hands down. I caught the mountains with some nice light on them the other night on my way home from the grocery and I happened to have my camera in the car so I stopped for a quick shot. It really does my heart good to see the mountains on my daily journeys. Sometimes in the mornings I see between one and three hot air balloons rising up over the horizon. Some mornings I'm a little envious of their view and other mornings I'm glad I'm surrounded by a hunk of metal and a heating system. I wonder if they're up there in their adult onesies that I see in the stores now. I know they need something.

Here's a little taste of my tiny hunk of heaven. Enjoy