Belong

 

This starts out as a bit of a non-cycling reminisce, but eventually comes back to bicycles.

Those are my daughters about ten years ago. They're sharing a swing my father hung in the front yard of the family house in Bluffton, SC, just up river from Hilton Head. I was only a few years older when that swing was first hung in the early 70s. Both the ropes and the seat have been replaced (multiple times), but the swing is still there. When I get in the swing, I'm transported back in time and it's like nothing has changed in 35 years.

Some places have the power to connect across time. This swing tethers me to my summer youth. When I'm there, I linger to make a firm imprint upon my memory in case fate fails to bring me back.

This photo helps, but I can't hear the palmettos rustling in the breeze or smell the salt marsh, and we're facing the wrong direction to view the water. It's not the same as being there.

On my daily bicycle ride into the office, I sometimes vary my route to visit places. And when the moment is ripe, I'll get off the bike, and linger.