With most of the snow now melted, the Portland  streets revealed their hidden treasures this morning with seven pennies and a dime. Several of the uncollected pennies were spotted in the days before, but the dime went in my pocket. It was day #4,436 for those of us keeping score and the pace very slow. My legs haven’t yet recovered from the pounding they took in the parking garage and I’m two pounds heavier than normal. Yet, I truck on, thinking of the tune Truckin’ by The Grateful Dead.

“Truckin’, got my chips cashed in
Keep truckin’, like the do-dah man
Together, more or less in line
Just keep truckin’ on”

“Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street
Chicago, New York, Detroit and it’s all on the same street
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings”

“Dallas, got a soft machine
Houston, too close to New Orleans
New York got the ways and means
But just won’t let you be”

“Most of the cats that you meet on the street speak of true love
Most of the time, they’re sittin’ and cryin’ at home
One of these days they know they better be goin’
Out of the door and down to the street all alone”

Truckin’, like the do-dah man
Once told me, “You’ve got to play your hand”
Sometimes the cards ain’t worth a dime
If you don’t lay ’em down”

“Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me
Other times, I can barely see
Lately, it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it’s been”

What a long strange trip this past year has been with the threats of virus, fires, hurricanes, ice storms, and power outages. As a result, we didn’t get to travel to places in the song like Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, New York, or to the Main Streets of our hometowns. Dallas was a mere flight change on our way to and from Florida. We also didn’t get out of the country as planned. On the other hand, my running trip was never interrupted during all of this, but required some underground creativity to Keep me Truckin’.

As a side note, the “doo-dah man,” posed on the cover of the Keep on Truckin album, was the work of underground comic (Zap Comix) artist Robert Crumb. “Fritz the cat” and “Mr. Natural” were other clever creations he brought to life during the late 1960s. His work also adorned the album cover of Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company. He currently lives in France at age 73, probably a senior when I was a freshman, to put our age difference in perspective. 

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings?” as the song lyrics prophesize. The trip continues for all of us, regardless of the challenges. I promise that I will run tomorrow – that’s one thing for sure. I’ll probably also write another strange post, as I continue to struggle with content during these too often boring days of waiting for the vaccine. As always, like the do-dah man – Keep On Truckin’!