We take the T-bird out once a week and drive the same route I bike every day. Arthur often falls asleep in the car, like a fussy baby, and I drive around town until he wakes up and yells at me that he needs to go to the bathroom. If we were characters in a movie, Arthur and I would go on a road trip together and I would learn important life lessons from him and he would benefit from my joie de vivre. Like that’s gonna happen. Even so, I cast the movie in my head: Arthur will be played by Kirk Douglas. The part of Royce Peterson will be played by Shia LaBeouf or maybe one of the Twilight dudes. One day I drive all the way out to Sidney and back while he sleeps, just to see what it’s like to drive the T-bird on the highway. It’s amazing, but I’m glad to get back to town and let my blood pressure return to normal. If I hadn’t had Arthur with me, I might have been tempted to continue past Sidney to the ferry terminal, slide up the ramp into the ferry’s metal maw and be on my way.
