Bumpy Roads

           Miss Kitty drove down the bumpy road toward Harold and Miles’ cabin. A cloud of dust billowed up behind her, and she rolled up the window of her green Subaru Outback. Although the road was dry and choked the air with dirt, she enjoyed the ruts, the bumps, and the twists and turns that forced drivers to take it slow. Of course, there was always one idiot that insisted on traveling at unsafe speeds. She smiled when she remembered the Thompsons from back east. Mrs. Thompson once told Kitty that going fast actually created a cushion beneath their vehicle, creating a skipping effect, which would protect the vehicle. In three months, the suspension in the Thompson’s car was toast, and in five months, the Thompson’s headed back east in search of smoother roads.

            Miss Kitty drove her vehicle today because she had packed her fiddle. She wanted to play with a group of musicians, and although Fiddlin` Red assured her that she had skill and was up to speed, Miss Kitty had never played for anybody, or with anybody, accept Fiddlin` Red, her mentor. When she learned a new tune, he backed her up on his Washburn parlor guitar. Miss Kitty, enamored with old timey music, longed to play with other like-minded musicians, and Harold and Miles, she thought, were the least scary option.

            Granted, Harold was a headless ghost, and Miles was a packrat. However, Miss Kitty had always marched to her own beat, and was a little strange and unusual herself. For instance, she lived alone near the top of Marijuana Knob, in an old cabin with outdoor plumbing, a generator, and solar panels. She didn’t own a television, cut her own firewood, hauled in what water she didn’t collect in her cistern, put up hay for her horse, and once in awhile, she belly danced with a group of her friends.

            It was difficult for Miss Kitty to admit that playing with real musicians caused her heart to skip a beat, forced all the blood to her elf ears, and made her feel like vomiting. However, Miss Kitty understood that with faith and hard work, her fears would simply run away. And today, she was going to confront her fear, and play her fiddle with Harold and Miles.