In Pursuit of Reality: parallel universes, parallel parking in a snow bank, and Pursuing Andie….
Yesterday morning, I slid into a snow bank. My little Nissan and I went careening down an icy hill on Highway 55 and smacked right into a giant berm of snow, and it’s all my fault. Here’s what happened:
I was running late leaving the house and needed to make it from Boise to McCall in just over 2 hours to make a work meeting on time. Normally, driving like Danica Patrick on one of her slow days is no big deal, but say there’s a little slush and ice on the winding, narrow highway separating one from a destination….a reasonable person would remove their lead boot and stick it in the trunk for extra rear weight and drive like Betty White, but as my manfriend is so good at pointing out, I’m not always the most reasonable of people. I had just reached the other side of Little Donner Pass – which, for those of you who don’t know the area, is a narrow, steep, tree-and-rock covered pass with a four-lane highway gouged through its center – and as I began my descent, I hit a rather deep pocket of slush covering a sheet of ice. I began to slip, and what did I do? Yes, I hit my brakes. Silly me. My car and I took a nice, leisurely double rotation across all four mercifully empty lanes and landed – THUNK – in a snow bank about halfway down the hill on the other side of the road. As I sat there, stunned and trembling but remarkably unharmed, I thought of the last interaction I had with Dustin before leaving the house:
Me (jumping up and down): I gotta go, I gotta go! Hurry up and give me a hug so I can get outta here, I’m running late!
Dustin (giving me a hug and a kiss on the forehead): You know, you can be a real turd when you’re in a hurry.
Me (squirming out of his embrace and sprinting for the door): Yes, I know. Sorry. See you in a couple days!
Dustin: Love you – drive safely, please!
What a turd indeed. Had I driven like a reasonable person rather than plowing forward like a disgruntled ox, I would have noticed how nasty the road was on the pass and could have saved myself a ride in the Mad Hatter’s teacups. Had I not wrecked, I would have been only 5 minutes late to my meeting instead of 20.
All these what-ifs got me thinking, as I eased out of the berm and crept along the highway at a respectable 40 mph…….in some parallel universe, I drove wisely and avoided that wreck. In another reality, I left my home a few minutes earlier and careened right into the massive white truck that sped by me on the other side of the pass. In yet another, I over-corrected my steering and flipped down the pass rather than taking the loopy slide I did today. Endless possibilities…..at least that’s the theory according to Brian Greene. So all things considered, I’m glad I woke up today in this reality rather than some other, less fortunately structured parallel universe.
(If you’re curious, the reason parallel universes popped into my head is because of Monday night’s Coast to Coast show on this very topic. I just adore George Noory and his large, caterpillar-like mustache….)
About the Outfit: This little adventure with Idaho roads and meditation on the unseen worlds that are endlessly layered upon our current reality also got me thinking about the many friends I’ve been fortunate enough to encounter during my stay in this sheet of life. My dear friend Andie Bravender-Mueller was kind enough to pack up some of her precious cargo from her vintage clothing store – Pursuing Andie – and gave us FU broads the go-ahead to paw through her collection and choose an outfit for this week’s blog. Thank you so very much, Andie – you are just lovely!
The dress I’m wearing for this week’s post is perfect for me in that it’s not something I would pick up on first glance, but would instead maybe pull it from amongst the many racks of clothing at any given vintage store, consider it briefly, move on in search of more obviously “me” items, and then not be able to get it out of my head. It takes a little time and consideration to truly appreciate this piece – it’s graceful, feminine collar, the simple, understated print with muted palate coupled with an unexpected burst of jewel tones at the hem, and the elegant line from sleeve to waist. It’s an incredibly thoughtfully made garment, and suits me beautifully.
The jewelry is a mix – some from the relentlessly talented Hazel Cox, some turquoise Navajo pawn jewelry from my great-grandmother, and a gold medallion from my grandfather. The belt is something I found at a clothing exchange years ago, and the shoes are also from Pursuing Andie and are still available for sale, as is the dress….so if you love them, know that they could be yours!
And as long as I’m praising friends for being incredible at what they do, many thanks to Bethany for these photos – simple, elegant, and wonderfully composed.
