Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Still Life With Charlene





























Marie-Do, of course, immediately understood the
reference and knew where I got the name from.
“Seulement les soixante-huitards retardés peuvent
donner un nom pareil à un vélo”, (“Only ageing
hippies could give a name like that to a bicycle”)
she said, and of course she is right.

But Charlene is much more than a bike, you see.
She has become my gateway to freedom, my eyes
and ears.

She is also in desperate need of a tune up. I
neglected her after the grueling Golden Triangle
ride and her gears are not quite in gear. Her brake
pads need to be replaced.

But one thing I refuse to do is to wash her. She
carries the proudly earned dirt and rain splashes of
her steady and faithful being.

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