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Life, actually…

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KA-THUNK! A FEW BUMPER CAR MEMORIES

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The very idea of Bumper Cars cheers me up, eggs me on, drives me beyond the negatives and the irritants of daily life Down South.

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Seriously.

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I have not seen or driven a bumper car for some sixty years, but I recall the experience so vividly. Why is that?

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Nowadays people all around me frequently use the term Bumper Cars in their daily anecdotes. I wonder whether they have ever boarded a bumper car, whether they know what it is like to be six years old, knocking about and pretending to drive without a proper license.

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What it was like to be inside a vehicular collision without getting hurt. What it felt like to crash into strangers and still smile and wave and share a laugh.

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The bumper cars of my youth still roll about, popping up now and then to help me describe a confusing situation, a perplexing encounter, a humorous melding of crisis and comedy.

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Maybe my bumper car memories serve as an anchor when life is perplexing or disorienting. When I make my way through crises large and small, I tend to beam down into the driver’s seat and just enjoy the ride.

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Knowing deep down that that’s about all the true solidity I can ever expect of life, life and its invisible and mysterious book of rules.

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Life may be vague and perplexing, but maybe that is as it should be. If we ever figure things out, the quest will be over. What will we do with our time?

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Should we become all-wise and all-knowing, what excitement will we find when we awaken from our beautiful bumper car daydreams

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© Jim Reed 2023 A.D.

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