Actions And Reactions Poem by Bill Galvin

Road ramblings as I settle in my own chair tonight.
Last night I saw windshield wipers when I closed my eyes.
This day began and ended on a clear note,
Sunny skies for the first 700 miles,
And a high, bright moon for the last 125.

It's going to be a long day on the road,
And still in Ohio, I say, sure, I can do this…
What, are you kidding? I laugh out loud… chiding myself.
Sure, your friend Dr Trish, your chiropractor,
Gave you this energy drink, and there's still some left.
Left hand steady on the wheel, right arm reaching behind…
There should be a bottled water there… Ahah, found it!
Now the packets… wow, I even found the box,
Blindly searching in the clutter behind the passenger seat.
I don't like to whiff the fine powder that flies about
When opening the packet, or the mess it makes if spilled…
I laugh out loud again… a fool's errand, no doubt.
Close the windows, the vents… the air is still now;
But I can only use one hand… so, I'll use my teeth to tear it…
Perfect… except, poof, the fine powder goes up my nose…
Idiot… oh well, it's open; sneezing, I get it into the bottle;
And I stayed in my lane all the time… or, ended in one lane,
Anyway; don't know which one I started in… but,
The caffeine, vitamins, and minerals sparked me for hours.

Tire scraps litter the highways; road crews can't keep up,
The retreads on 18-wheelers blow out so often.
So, I'm behind one of the many rolling roadblocks
Truckers create when one driver goes, say,70 mph,
And another wants to pass him… and does 71 mph.
Well, this can go for miles in the hills,
As the trucker in the passing lane takes forever to pass.
Well, I'm behind that guy, and he's got highway hypnosis,
Or he's plain stubborn, laughing at the line of cars behind him,
Because now the trucker on my right is going past him… great.
I'm looking at the big rig's rear axles off my starboard bow,
When… Blam! Rubber is flying! Past my passenger door,
Over the car behind me… I veer left a little,
Everyone behind him brakes real quick.
His left inside tire on his last axle blew apart into shreds,
Making a flap, flap, flap noise as it quickly disintegrated.
The driver kept on going; 17 tires is good enough,
As long as the blowout is on the trailer, not the tractor.
I always wondered what it was like when one blew,
Now, I witnessed it, first hand.

So, somewhere near Erie, PA, where you can see
Lake Erie, big and blue like an ocean out there, from hwy 90;
There's a trooper car stopped on the other side of the median;
I slow down; there are 2 pedestrians in the breakdown lane
On my side. In the low spot of the 30' wide grassy median
The trooper stands… can't figure this out… I get closer…
They're not pedestrians… just out of their car… odd, though,
The trooper not over here on this side… closer still, jeez,
She's got her weapon drawn… aiming, downward,
About 6 feet in front of her at the ditch… two hands on pistol…
Arms stiff, straight out for control… My god! She fired!
Just as I approached, with my music in a silent phase,
The report of the firearm snapped over the road noise,
Even through closed windows.
I was able to turn quickly as I passed to see the target…
In the ditch, she dispatched an injured deer.
The couple on my side must have hit it, and reported it,
And waited, hoping for a better outcome,
As the woman bent over and turned away in shock,
Emotional agony wracking her body, as her husband consoles her.
I thought I was hardened against such episodes,
But, as I reran the details over in my memory
In the next few minutes, a small tear came to my eye, too.

Somewhere in NY State, at a rest area,
A guy takes a photo of his love in front of a blooming bush.
Large pink flowers adorn this huge 15' wide shrub.
She wants to take his photo… ok… I'm walking by…
Hey want me to take a picture of you both?
They were so taken by the flowering bush… oh, yes, thanks.
I say 'on 3', so '1,2,3'… I take at least 2 pics.
They ask do you know what kind of bush this is?
I say I think it's an azalea. I've never seen one this big.
They're coming out, I'm going in, so, I ask the guy inside,
They're still out there in the car, so, I let them know, confirmed.
He says, thanks, did you see all those bumblebees in it?
It was fun to see a middle-aged couple, so enthused…
About flowers, about each other, about life in general.

South of Albany, I turn due eastward, and begin
The route over the Berkshires and the Mass Pike.
As I cross the Hudson, my rear view mirrors fill up
With the orange glow of a beautiful sunset…
I wanted to keep looking behind me… gorgeous.
A deer wanted to run across the road in front of us;
We all slowed, veered, and the deer had second thoughts,
Jumping back into the woods… whew… wonderful.

5-18-2016,11pm