While eating in a McDonald’s a couple of days ago on my way to my sister and brother-in-law’s, I spotted an old couple walking toward their car.

Both the husband and the wife looked to be at least 70, and the effects of age were evident in both, but especially the wife.

I watched as the husband walked over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door, then waited as the wife made her way in and got settled. Because of her condition, it took her a while to do so, but he was patient, expression never changing. Once she was in, he shut the door and tottered over to his side and got in.

A big smile spread over my face as they pulled out, as I thought to myself, That’s how I want to be in 50 years.

After going to today’s departmental orientation session, I am walking back to the corner of University and 13th so that I can pick up the northbound 8 towards my apartment. I look down at my watch and realize that the southbound 8 should be heading this way pretty soon as well. I look up at the sky. It is becoming overcast, and it appears that one of Florida’s famous mini-storms is brewing.

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The following is a true story. I know, because it happened to me not more than 15 minutes ago.

It began like any other morning. I had gone to the kitchen to fix myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I had already gotten my bowl and the cereal itself, and went to the refrigerator for the milk. I opened the refrigerator, and there was the milk. But as I lifted it out of its door shelf, the top of the milk upset the door shelf above where it was resting.

The entire apparatus came down, jars and all.

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Lately, it has seemed that my usual Midas touch with technology (just ask my mom) has been fading. The DVD player that I got for Christmas wouldn’t work with any TV in my grandparents’ house because none of them had A/V inputs, only coax inputs. So I took a little trip to Radio Shack to get an RF converter. This should solve my problem, I thought. I also bought another coax cable to complete the new connection I would make from the RF converter to the TV. $37 later, I was set to go. Or so I thought.

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A while back, I told you about my drive on Grants Mill Road and Highway 119 towards Pelham. The other day, I decided to go the other way on 119 and see where that took me. Then I decided to go on Rex Lake Road off of Grants Mill.

I believe that I’ve found my new fall drive.

I said earlier that the drive on Grants Mill is hilly and twisty. At times, you kind of feel like you’re on a roller coaster in a car. At one point, the curve is so steep that the recommended speed is 10 m.p.h. And I was right. It looks pretty amazing in fall, especially over the narrow bridge that you cross just before you reach Highway 119.

Making a left on 119, you find some amazing stuff. I had no idea there were so many riding acadamies on this road. I must have passed at least four stables. There are some great views of yellow-green fields with lots of mountainous, deciduous areas as a background. There are a couple of times that the road itself vanishes into leaves of gold, and you’re in one of the best fall sceneries not found in New England.

I made it to Leeds somewhere, turned around, and came back. Coming back towards home on Grants Mill Road, I decided to turn onto Rex Lake Road. I had a feeling that this would also be a fun road to drive. I wasn’t disappointed.

This section of road had times that made you think of those Goodyear commercials where the tires have to be “validated” before you can drive on the road you select. The speed limit is 45-55 miles an hour, and you’re going through some relatively curved roads. It’s a great drive.

I made it all the way to the end of the road and found myself intersecting with a road that connected almost immediately to I-20. I had no idea how far away from my normal exit I was.

I had made it to Leeds again, at least 10 miles from Grants Mill. I got on the interstate and headed for home.

There’s a reason that Paul Fussell called interstates “conduits of the middle-class”. Interstates are designed to get you to your destination as quickly as possible. If you see something along the way, so much the better, but that’s not the original intent of them. They’re not nearly as fun to drive as the back roads, with their farms and lakes and fall colors. When you’re not rushing to your next stop, take a drive on a back road or two and you’ll see what I mean.

As I have mentioned before in this space, I love to drive. I like going places and sometimes not really going anywhere at all. I enjoy getting lost and then finding where I am again. And it’s fun to find stuff that I had no idea was there along the way. So this is my first in what may become a series of fun places to just take a drive.

The other day, I was driving from a store, and I got to the intersection of I-459 and Grants Mill Road. I take a left at the Grants Mill Road exit all the time to get to my grandparents’ house. But I had never gone right and seen what was that way.

My curiosity got the best of me. So I ventured forth.

If you like twisty, somewhat hilly roads with a lot of scenery, this road is for you. You can’t go much faster than 40 miles an hour at any one point because there isn’t any straight section of road to be found. But it’s a lot of fun to drive. The scenery is mainly wooded; the road at times feels pretty tight because the trees are cut very close to the road. But in fall, I bet it looks pretty amazing. I also found out that it connects with Cahaba Valley Road, which is a pretty neat drive in itself because of The Church at Brook Hills, Just For Feet Headquarters, and Indian Springs, among other things.

So if you’re in Birmingham and you just feel like taking a nice drive one day, I recommend the Grants Mill Road/119 combination.

For the past two days, I have spent the majority of my time moving, dusting, cleaning, and moving again furniture and boxes from my great-grandmother’s house.

My great-grandmother died about four years ago at the age of 94. She was, among other things, something of a pack rat. (I guess that’s where I got it from.) Consequently, among our finds so far have been drawings from the 1930’s, sewing instructions from the 1920’s, and letters from the 1890’s. There’s an old AM radio from the 1940’s or so (which I’ve already asked to have when I get my own place). There are many pieces of furniture that are still in amazing condition for their age.

As I write this, I’m looking at her old Singer sewing machine (from back when the machine was itself a piece of furniture). My hands still smell of old wood and dust and history.

In our living room sits a table and chairs that my great-great-grandparents used. They’re relatively simple pieces of furniture, but their life is in their history. In my bedroom is my great-grandmother’s rocking chair: the one that she held my mother in, and my sister and I in as well.

My mother and I had a talk about how memories are kept alive in the things that are in the house, like the table and the sewing machine and so on. I tend to keep memories more from situations than things, myself. But in the case of that rocking chair, seeing it in my room and knowing where it’s been is incredible. And I can remember my Maw-Maw Louise, matriarch of one side of my family.

Tonight, before I go to bed, I’m going to sit in that chair. And I’m going to rock for a little bit, surrounded by history.

A rundown of yesterday’s events…

1:00 a.m. – fresh off scrubbing both bathrooms and the kitchen spotless (and using more Pine-Sol than the law probably allows in the process), set my alarm for 7:30, and finally get to sleep.

5:00 a.m. – pop wide awake. D’oh. Toss and turn for a little while, realize that I’m just not going to fall back asleep, and reluctantly get up. Clean out the refrigerator, freezer, and microwave.

6:30 a.m. – go to McDonald’s for breakfast. It’ll be the first of two trips to Mickey D’s today.

8:15 a.m. – go to a local storage facility place. I had called yesterday afternoon after business hours inquiring about a 10-by-12 storage area for rent. They told me to come this morning and look at it. Find out that after I called, someone else rented the area. D’oh again.

8:30 a.m. – talk to another storage company on the phone, asking if they still had open the 10-by-10 area that I looked at yesterday. They do not, but they tell me that one might open this afternoon and that they will give me a call if it does. I will not receive a phone call from them today.

8:45 a.m. – talk to another storage company, asking about a 10-by-15 area. They have one. The Hallelujah Chorus plays in my mind. I tell them I will be right over to do the paperwork. I go by U-haul on the way back and buy some picture boxes.

9:30 a.m. – just getting back to the apartment, I am getting some last-minute things together when my dad arrives. He’s an hour and a half early. This turns out to be a very good thing.

11:30 a.m. – the first load of stuff (including my couch, recliner, dishes, and books) is loaded into my car, his truck, and the trailer he brought, and is unloaded at the storage area. We look at the size of the 10-by-15. My dad thinks we’ll have plenty of room for all the stuff. So do I.

Noon – lunch. By this time, I am already pretty tired, and my breakfast is long gone.

1:00 p.m. – we start loading up again. Big items this time include all of my bedroom furniture and my mattresses. I lament the fact that my bedroom furniture is made entirely of wood. All of my weights go during this time as well. I lament the fact that I haven’t lifted them more recently.

2:30 p.m. – we finish unloading this load; we note that it’s going to be a tight squeeze to get the rest of the stuff in. I am thankful that the other two companies rented their areas.

3:00 p.m. – third and final load (including my dining room table and chairs and entertainment center) is loaded in. I note the amount of stuff that is left in the apartment. I will be taking all of it home. I wonder if I can get it all into my car. By now, I’m getting tired enough to possibly give the new tenant housewarming gifts if I can’t get it in on the first try.

4:30 p.m. – we finish what we thought would be a three-hour job in roughly six. The storage facility’s door will barely close, we have packed things in so tight. I guess optimism runs in the family.

4:45 p.m. – we drive down I-59 and I turn off onto McFarland Boulevard’s exit. My dad drives on to wherever he’s supposed to go on location. We exchange waves. I think how much I love my dad.

5:00 p.m. – I start loading things into my own car for the trip — where? I think about going over to Birmingham and staying the night there before I come home. It’s been a long day, after all. I decide to make the decision on the road, at the last possible moment.

5:30 p.m. – everything’s loaded into the car except for the vacuum cleaner, which I use to vacuum the apartment one last time. I pick the vacuum up, turn off the living room light, and step out of what was my home for two years. I close the door.

5:45 p.m. – I throw away the day’s trash and head to the apartment complex office to turn in my keys. I talk to the manager for a couple of minutes. I pull out of the apartment complex for the last time. I put in Caedmon’s Call and forward to track 12: “I’m Coming Home”.

6:00 p.m. – I turn left onto I-59 and leave Tuscaloosa for the last time as a student.

6:50 p.m. – exit 15 on I-459 looms, and so does my decision. Go home tonight, or stop in Birmingham? I am exhausted. My muscles ache from more use than they’ve had in a long time. Beyond that, I’m tired just from not having much sleep. My decision is easy. I turn on my right signal light and pull into the lane for I-65 south. I’m going home.

8:00 p.m. – somewhere around Montgomery, I realize that I left my shower curtain in one of my bathrooms. I wonder if this will adversely affect my deposit.

9:27 p.m. – I pull up into my parents’ driveway. I need a shower, food, and sleep desperately. The shower feels wonderful against my aching muscles. The food is good, plentiful, and is cooked by a mother who is extremely happy to see me. The sleep comes quickly as I drop into my waterbed.