Ms. Stand Broadens Her Horizons

a Christmas Adventure

Ms. Stand had been having a dull, few months. After a period when she was out on stage regularly it was now a sporadic thing and short-lived excursions at that. The rest of the time she stood in a back room with exercise equipment or in a crowded garage with spiders, alternating locations in between stage appearances.

So, when she was removed from the spidery garage and stuffed into the bed of a pickup truck with various yellow-lidded totes and a large spare tire under a tonneau cover, she fully expected to end up back in the exercise room at her other abode.

The journey seemed to take longer than usual so she lay quietly, wedged between a tote and crate of tools, her head resting on the tire, snugly beneath the cover. No point in rattling - not that she could anyway - so she gave over the road noise and proudly relived her evenings on the stage.

Hours later after one or two short stops, some bouncing over a different surface (she almost rattled) the truck stopped and stayed stopped. She lay there waiting to be hauled out and when the tail gate dropped, was startled by the really cold air that rushed in. Like, really cold! "Whoa! Not in Sedona now," Ms. Stand thought.

Her single leg with its three feet was tugged out a bit with a surprised shout from the person doing the tugging, and then shoved back in, head to the tire again. It was a relief when something softish, rubbery - even if reeking of dog - was shoved in against her feet and the tailgate shut again. It was that backseat dog hammock thing, she realized, having been being thrust into it once on a very short trip across town.

It was an excruciatingly cold night even with the hammock, the tire and tote. The cover was not warm, but she was dry at least. There was a lot of car door openings and closings, the engine came on a few times and ran but the truck didn't move. It was a relief when everything settled down and, while she missed the exercise room which was always warm, she took refuge in dreaming again of the lit stages she knew.

The tail gate dropped and the cozy hammock pulled away, jolting her awake as a blast of cold air hurtled in. To her surprise and, it must be said, discomfort she was unceremoniously tugged out of her bed and planted upright in some white sandy stuff. Her three feet gripped the ground and her wide flat face stared (two sides at once of course) at her environment. Where the heck was she? And it was damned cold!!

It was empty and huge and unnerving for a being used to small, closed spaces. Before she had a chance to begin to adjust, she was upended, her thin body parallel to the ground (her usual mode of short travel) and carried up a little hill, past a jagged looking bush (outdoor images quite unfamiliar to her) and then down a slight slope.

There was a warm-smelling cloud ahead, she noticed when she was stood upright. It came from a low tank of some sort. (There was a similar one on the way into the exercise room but much smaller.) More of that white sandy stuff only a bit sticky here, she noted. And it was still very cold.

Again, she was pulled up and, not laid sideways but still upright, lifted over the edge of the tank and - feet first - plunged in! It almost made her head fall over flat. The heat!! Shocking after the cold. The hot water lapped half up her slender figure, her head settled and she gave a happy little shudder.

The cold eased away, warmth percolated to her very core and she could look around her. It was stunning! She'd never seen such abundance of space and beauty. Wide playa stretching to a distant mountain range topped with snow, a burgeoning blue sky over a soft blanket of sun light over it all.

Ms. Stand was happy to just stand there, even if her feet were a little too warm, the cold air on her face kept her from fainting. It made the endless ride and cold night worth every moment to arrive - here. She was glad that somehow she had ended up here, although she had no idea how, why or even where. It was just good to be out!

After a short soak, it was back under the tonneau cover, head on the tire between the tote and crate, with that road noise. Now as she dreamed the drive away, she added the experience of her first hot spring to the stories in her head.

After a few more short stops, the pickup finally stopped and doors banged, the dog barked and the tailgate came down. Ms. Stand emerged feet first into an entirely different landscape. Green expanse, very damp, also cold and beautiful in its way. An ancient metal machine of some kind nodded hello and continued to gaze out over the field. They were joined briefly by a woman and two dogs, as she took in this wonder. A bit like a garden she has passed (sideways) once but much bigger. It was lovely to stand there upright, feet firmly in the wet earth and just - be.

Even if she hadn't intended to stow away, she was very glad it had happened. It was certainly not a choice she would've made knowingly, being too timid to risk places out of her comfort zone. But something in her was blooming. And then it was back in the truck bed and on with the trip.

It was a while before she emerged again from under the tonneau. Totes and crates were removed but she stayed under the cover on the tire with the stinky hammock. It was dull after all the excitement and not warm like the hot spring or expansive like the field. She missed the exercise equipment and even the spiders. She was lonely.

It was with relief and anticipation that she heard the tail gate drop and felt her middle grasped. Traveling, her body parallel to the ground, up very steep outdoor stairs, through a red door and down a skinny hall, finally landing upright in a carpeted room, she immediately felt at home.

Through one side of her face she could see a Christmas tree and the other peered through a partially open door into a room with - "Oh my goodness! Other performers!" Ms. Stand almost fell over with excitement. Standing happily next to her new friends - Mr. Guitar, Miss Microphone - they had only a brief time to exchange a few stories of the stage before she was whisked away again.

The journey back, again wedged with the tire, totes and crate under the tonneau, was long with a stop at the green field and hot spring before arriving home, and back into the garage with the spiders. Standing there wondering when she'd see the exercise room again (she had stories to tell them, the spiders weren't interested) she had a little Aha! moment.

She had, it seemed, been kidnapped but without it she'd just be Ms. Stand standing there with no stories to tell, no wonderous views to recall and certainly no memories beyond the stage to revel in.

There were three other Stands that sometimes stood with her in the garage. They didn't believe her adventure although one was shocked by the hot spring story. She felt a bit sorry for them. Their chances of being kidnapped were slender. They didn't travel between two homes like she did with the possibility of accidentally ending up on a trip. No, they were doomed to stay in their spidery garage with only short trips to the stage.

She heard that it had been a mistake, she wasn't meant to go to Oregon but across town to the exercise room. She had been forgotten somehow in the rush of leaving. But that one time Ms. Stand found herself with no option but to broaden her horizons with such good companions has given her itchy feet - all three of them. She's ready for the next adventure.

January 6, 2025

Photos:The Author

I took Ms. Stand with me by mistake when I drove to OR for the holiday season with family. So, I made the most of it - and her. (She isn’t even mine…) It occurred to me that my adventurous nature and wild trips are, for some people, both mad and inexplicable. Certainly when I began these adventures it was a bit scary, and today I take extra precautions (I have a Gooloo now!) but it was and still is liberating and expands my sense of self and capacity in other areas of my life.

I recommend it. Take a risk, say yes to the surprising opportunity (or create one), scare yourself (a little). As 2025 unfolds, encourage your courage, grow your capacity for life lived well and see just how beautiful the world can be.

(This is a free post to everyone as a welcome to 2025. I’ll be offering some writing opportunities do just that - on paper. Please make sure you are subscribed for those. Currently still at the 2024 rate!)