Insult To Injury #ThursdayDoors

This is starting to look like one of those competitive children’s road trip games: How many doors can you take pictures of that are actually usable? Now, don’t argue about it! If I have to stop this car, you’re going to wish I hadn’t!

Oh, God, the memories.

ANYWAY, here are some more doors I snappied while Sara drove me to appointments this month.

You can just about see the door on this … church? bank? real estate office? I also like the shutters and the stonework on the corner.

One of the restaurants on the street where my hospital is located. I love the rounded tile over the doorway.

Arches! I think this fire plug was always blue and yellow, but it means Ukraine to me now.

Insult to injury: This is DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET from the hospital where I got my mastectomy. I tried to get Sara to go there so I could ask if I got to eat half-price, but she wouldn’t.

Thursday doors is under the direction of Dan Antion, photographer extraordinaire and critter daddy. Visit his site, enjoy his wonderful photographs, follow his directions, and enter a world of doors.

A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Road trip!

MA

About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

You may also like...

One thought on “Insult To Injury #ThursdayDoors

  1. Michael Hodges

    March 17, 2022 at 10:18am

    The last road trip I was on was as a surprise for my son. He’d never seen the Great Lakes, and although it was only Lake Michigan we were headed to, the effect was still intended to be impressive.

    But for me, the surprise was paramount.

    Luke and I often (or at least before my truck died) got into the truck to just go for a drive, whether early in the morning or late at night. We like to ride with the windows down in summer, with music playing, or perhaps conversing over just anything at all (from the nature of God to the nature of Legos). When we reach an intersection, I’ve often left it up to him: left, right, or straight? That being the case, I had a foot in the door pulling the surprise off.

    It also just so happened that along with my secretly packing for several days ahead of time AND packing the truck after he went to bed, HE brought up that we hadn’t driven in a while and he’d like a road trip in the morning.

    Talk about luck!

    When it comes to road trips and long drives, I am TOTALLY a morning person. I like the vehicle packed and I like to get on the road even if everyone else is sleeping. In fact I LIKE that quiet time when others sleep while I drive: little traffic, darkness on the open road, the gradual joy of watching sunrise and the sky as it pales . . .

    I packed not only our luggage, but comfort items like pillows and blankets. But I camouflaged it all with a black blanket that had no reflective qualities. Since everything was in a space behind the seats, and I made sure all cords and other articles were up front, he’d have virtually no reason to even glance backward!

    With northern Indiana being our goal, I knew I could avoid the Tom-tom nearly all the way, just had to make it to I-65 without seeming suspicious, or too focused.

    2:00 in the a.m. comes early, even when you’re excited about a road trip. Nevertheless, I was happy.

    I left along some of our usual routes, headed toward Palmyra, then on past to Salem. In Salem we found a new doughnut shop, which suited my purposes, so we stopped and got snacks and beverages. Luke was afraid I was finished and about to head home, and so very relieved when I began circling the square and asked “Which way?” As Psychology would have it, he immediately chose the route to direct us most away from home. I felt a bit like a manipulative stinker, but I WAS giving him choices!

    You know Salem well enough, and eventually we ended up on the road out toward 65. Once there, I Dad-nipulated the situation again by saying “Okay, right takes us back toward home, though it’s a long way and we can drive around a lot. Left takes us North.” You don’t even need a guess for that one.

    After about half an hour on the road, and with traffic picking up some, a car went zipping by with an IL plate and a Chicago bumper sticker. They weren’t dangerous, but I feigned interest in something about them and Luke was delighted for us to take up a bit of a chase. Hopefully the other driver wasn’t in witness protection, panicking and thinking “Omigod, they’ve found me!”

    This kept us going for a while, and then I took a side road I knew would circle back well north to I-65. We had loads of time and the pretense, the surprise, was my main goal (actually it was to enjoy the trip with Luke; but I LOVE surprising that boy), so keeping it all very casual and unaimed mattered.

    I drove back roads up THIS side of the Interstate. I drove back roads up THAT side of the Interstate. We passed through small towns, we stopped at convenience stores, and I did my best to avoid 65 until it could no longer be done.

    Magically, an enormous bank of clouds rolled in, obscuring the sun and extending the darkness of morning for well over an hour. It might not have meant much to Luke, but I loved it.

    We would have explored Indianapolis, but there was so much construction that we ended up well out of our way and being directed toward BFE (Bum-F*** Egypt), and I was forced to pull out the Tom-tom. STILL, he just rolled with it — but he began to suggest we “go to Chicago.” I might have, if not for a reservation elsewhere.

    Finally, about an hour north of Indy, Luke started to say he was getting really tired and maybe we should head home. At that point I suggested a pillow and blanket, and for the first time he seemed surprised and confused; but he put it together quickly and said “Okay, where ARE we going?” With only about an hour and a half left on the road I figured telling him was no big deal. After that he tried napping, but was too excited by the fact that we really WERE on the road, not just out for a rewardingly long drive.

    The trip itself was great. The town we stayed in wasn’t as great as the time prior when I’d stayed in ’18. COVID had taken its toll, hours all felt off, diners where I wanted to take him had adjusted hours, diners we tried didn’t pay off.

    But there was a Barnes & Noble nearby, and despite that we have that very bookstore locally, Luke and I are both Bookstore people. We went there THREE TIMES, and over the course of those few days I spent about $350 on books alone (I’d saved for the trip AND for requisite splurging, I just didn’t know it would be a bookstore). We also went to a used and rare bookstore, where I absolutely CRAVED a $750 multi-volume comprehensive dictionary of the English language across 18 volumes. SCHWINNNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! I had trouble walking inconspicuously! Ermagordzorz, what a find! But I couldn’t afford it. The store owner was a connoisseur of so many things, and he and I chatted over those dictionaries (and the state of language) for a very long time, as well as spending time browsing a large book of cave paintings together, like boyfriends almost.

    Have you ever been briefly gay and just didn’t realize it? I had to laugh because I think we were crushing on each other for about a half hour there.

    As a side note, Luke wanted to drive back up there with his mother to purchase those dictionaries for me for Christmas. He offered to pay, but she nixed it.

    **pathetic whinging sounds**

    For all the little things that didn’t work out, the trip itself was a HUGE success. Luke and I enjoy one another’s company on the road. He’s a fine companion in general. The return trip met enormous traffic difficulty on I-65 and an alternate route eventually led us to crave Turoni’s pizza from Evansville, so we changed our headings drastically. After what seemed an interminable drive (sometimes the unplanned feels arduous rather than adventurous) Turoni’s was a great reward — and for the first time, belly full to bursting, Luke fell asleep on the way home.

    I love road trips.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      March 17, 2022 at 10:37am

      I was hoping you did. When I came up with the prompt, I could almost taste a great story from you, and you didn’t disappoint!

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
      • Michael Hodges

        March 17, 2022 at 11:13am

        Marian Allen! Have you taken it upon yourself to poke me with sticks?!?

        Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  2. Ally Bean

    March 17, 2022 at 3:33pm

    In my observation doors of all kinds are fair game on Thursday Doors. 😁

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  3. Dan Antion

    March 17, 2022 at 7:21pm

    I almost spit my tea onto my keyboard at your request for Hooters. I love the drive-by doors you’ve been sharing, and you get 1,000 bonus points for correctly identifying a “fire plug”

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply

Leave a Reply to Michael HodgesCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.