“Inspiration, move me brightly”

I couldn’t remember what song this line is from, and my first search was for the jam band Strangefolk before it occurred to me that it was by their inspiration, the Grateful Dead. In any case, this line from Terrapin Station perfectly captures my weekend. I’ve been busy with other pursuits and haven’t had time to write, or even the inspiration to sit down and write.

I went through my jam band phase in college, specifically the years 1998-2000, and by the end of 2001 I was done with the scene. But it left its mark in many ways, mostly centered around how I like to follow bands from town to town and collect set lists and recordings of shows.

My adventures today took me down to Akron, OH, where I picked up an auction item I won: a boom box from 1995 that has a 6-CD changer and dual cassettes, with speakers that can be removed! It supposedly works, and after I clean it up and test it I may try to resell it. I’ve always liked gadgets that play recorded music, and a couple weeks ago I bought a pack of replacement belts for cassette decks to see if I can fix my machine.

From Akron I took the scenic route to get to Cuyahoga Falls, where one of my favorite yarn stores is located. They were having a Valentine’s Day sale and I needed some black yarn to complement a recent purchase from a different store. The clerk fussed over my choice, said I was brave to knit with black, but I brushed it off with a smile, knowing that it shouldn’t be that hard.

As I looked at the directions to go home, I decided to once again take the scenic route even though it would take me 20 minutes longer. The map showed a road called Olde Eight Rd, as the alternate to state route 8 (a highway at this stretch), and I was game. Except that I missed the turn and ended up on SR 303 going into Cuyahoga Valley National Park! Ah well, there was some sun and a partly blue sky, so I pulled into a parking lot to reassess my route. I noticed that in Peninsula I could pick up Riverview Rd, and follow it north more or less alongside the Cuyahoga River. And since I happen to love roads that follow rivers, this is what I did.

As I was driving and oohing and ah-ing over the various things I passed, I realized that I wanted to write about this. My inspiration in life comes from driving, or traveling, to a lesser degree, and that’s what this blog is really all about: inspiration to follow that road to see where it goes. To bring it back to Strangefolk lyrics, “I don’t know where I’m going but I’ll get there.”