This is a picture I took this summer, at a hot-air balloon fly-in. This is for all you hot-air balloon fanatics, and for all you road warriors. Or maybe for those looking for a picture for their school report on the subject of "transportation." Or for the psych majors-you can deconstruct the ultimate subconscious longing of the motorcycle, its frustration with its own limitations and it's "helium envy." And the literary among us:





So much depends upon
A red motorcycle
Glazed with rainwater
Beside the colorful hot air balloon

I am currently rereading the Lord of the Rings, and I can't help but think how easy it would have been for Frodo to get to Mordor if he had had a Harley or a hot-air balloon. I think the Harley would have been my choice, due to the fact that you could leave the Black Riders in the dust. I'm afraid a hot-air balloon would be no match for the Nazgul. Seriously, though, I am enjoying Tolkien's Lord of the Rings just as much as the first time I read it. His writing is enchantingly beautiful and the depth of his creativity astounds me. I feel like I am there, with the Fellowship, heading South through all their danger and despair. I find myself wishing I could stay awhile in Lothlorien, with the Galadrim beneath the golden mallorn trees. This is what makes a good book. And when I say "good book" that is a simple phrase that to me encompasses many varied descriptions and qualifications that would take awhile to expound, therefore "good book" must suffice.
I must away, the baby awakes....