Thursday, May 12, 2011

Labyrinth

When I was a kid we had a challenging wooden toy called Labyrinth that required you to steer a small steel ball around a tricky course by manipulating the board just so, avoiding all the little numbered holes. It took a lot of finesse to negotiate part of the path, like between the 6 and 7 holes. To be successful, you had to develop muscle memory for the right strategy.
I love driving along a certain back road because (a) it's beautiful and (b) it presents the same kind of challenge. There are smooth parts where you can approach the 35-mph speed limit. But then there are the rougher, fun parts, and after a while you learn where the bumps are and can avoid them: the stone wall where maroon hollyhocks flourish every summer, and near the abandoned old barn. And the persistent puddles in the road are dead giveaways that if you don't slow to a crawl, your shocks are going to take one heck of a beating before you get to the end of the maze.

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