Have you read the bios of my team on Leaf Magazine’s website?   We had some fun with writing them and since they went online, I have had all sorts of fun responses from people about my own write-up.  It confirms the ambivalent feeling that I have had for some time towards the bio on the this site and I am encouraged to finally get around to changing up the ‘about’ section.  It has been annoying me because it is just so dull and not entirely reflective of me -plus (happily) I am bringing in a few contributors that I want to give some love to – so that has been added to the ‘To Do” list. I’ll let you know when the new version is up and the contributors can be introduced officially.

Anyway, in the bio I mentioned my truck songs….and I have subsequently had numerous questions about them.  While, at the moment, I simply don’t have to the time to share the list in its entirely, I will tell you a new song that is going to be added into the rotation.  I discovered Valley Low by Blisses b through Anne Sage this morning.  It is seriously good — and I couldn’t agree more with Anne’s description: “If Vampire Weekend and a mini tiger had a baby; then the Talking Heads and a ten gallon drum of glitter had a baby; then those babies had a baby; Blisses B would be that baby.”  Yes – exactly.

My truck tends to get parked for the winter, which isn’t really a good thing because a few things happen –

1) The plow guy feels no remorse for piling large amounts of snow in front of it, securing its winter lock down.

2) Mice and other creatures move into the inner cavities of the truck causing amazing things to happen — like the time that the cab suddenly filled up with billowing white smoke causing me to drive up on the sidewalk in the middle of the day in the middle of downtown Worcester, MA and then bail out as quickly as possible because I thought it was about to blow in good hollywood-esque fashion.  Quite a scene.  Turns out the mouse house that had been built in the heater core had caught fire and truly, you know have no idea how much smoke little bits of grass and fluff make when they catch fire in front of a fan. (I am taking a tip from a friend to put dryer sheets in the glove box and any other place I can think of apparently they don’t like the freshsmell of human like laundry).

Which brings me to #3) A really funky smell takes hold when it is closed up for that long.  It is a combo of mouse nastiness, the remnants of the previous owners chain smoking and sourness that results from the forgetfulness of the current owner to roll up the windows before it rains.   I have got to replace the seat covers because they are just gross and probably the bulk of this stench is harboured there.   I am planning to make my own from Mexican Blankets.  I shopped for seat covers and they were at least 90 bucks, but I can get a great Mexican blanket for $20 which is more durable, and after a few lines of stitching, I will have something far more suitable to my own sensibilities.

But the (#4) biggest reason is that when I drive any other car but the truck I am just driving a car, but the truck is an adventure, a journey, an event to do something fun and even though the thing is a nightmare in the snow and ice, I think taking a whole season off from adventures it just too much.

images from the mad preist, Mexican wholesale blankets