Hills are part of our route to work - up and down in both directions. There is a short section of street which like many around here is so steep it is paved with concrete slabs because asphalt would run off it in hot weather. On the way to work I hold my breath going down there. If F slips, I'm going to rattle down those cobbles, across a busy road, and carry on at speed until I either crash or run into the sea at the bottom of the street several blocks away.
So far my luck has held, F hasn't slipped while acting as the braking system for my Donkey, but it's the stuff disturbing dreams are made of. She did slip there one day (on her own) our first winter here and showed me the big purple bruises. Really, I would rather not have considered the possibility.
Other routes exist but they all have a steep (ish) hill, some longer than others; none others so steep they have concrete. All the others are less direct routes.
Coming home we get to the bottom of this steep section and I can hear gnashing and gnarling as F engages 4 wheel drive and hunts around for the low ratio gear box. We grind our way up the hill past the white haired lady and her middle aged daughter who sit on the top of their outdoor stairs on hot days.
"Geia sas".
The white hared lady always smiles and waves cheerfully. Her daughter always looks like our progress up the hill - pained.
F stayed out late last night and came home smelling of chocolate ice cream and public transport.
Hmmmmm. 😼
The trip to work this morning was more of a slow plod than a brisk walk. The trip home was even slower and came to a grinding halt at the bottom of the steep street. It's hot. After a pause, there was the usual gnashing and gnarling and .... nothing. The white haired lady waved. F waved back. I detected previously unknown mechanical adjustments and eventually F seemed to find a set of crawler gears I never knew existed.
We inched up the hill.
We stalled in potholes .....
........and teetered on ledges of broken concrete....
We zigged and we zagged....
BTW did you know that to zig-zag apparently came from Greek dancing; zigger zagger or something like that - anyway I digress...
F's shoes slid in loose gravel.....
We dodged the last Donkey-swallowing, axle-breaking pothole and the street levelled out a bit for the final run at the summit. The white haired lady waved again and we felt like Hillary and Tenzing.
Hari OM
ReplyDelete...MOL... OMC, Tigger, you have me and Mac1 (sister who commented on your FFF) cackling away as we sit in my Hutch relaxing and losing OUR pained looks from caring for the white-haired one as we envisage the scenarios you describe and the pawssibilities within them. And are grateful you and Tenzing F arrived at the summit in one piece!!! Hugs and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx
F might have hammed it up slightly....I stopped her from adding crevasses and rope sections. We deliberately didn't add photos tho' because it's like taking pictures of big sea from a yacht deck; the photos never convey the enormity of the challenge faced in that moment. Furrings and purrings and hope every day you find reasons to smile. Mr T
DeleteI don’t like steep roads or walkways
ReplyDeleteThank goodness we live on very flat land
Especially now. I’m so out of shape I can barely walk the level ground any incline and I think I might have a heart attack
F came from Dunedin which has among its claims to fame Baldwin Street (and others nearly as steep, all of which she used to go running on). Nutter I say, but she actually likes running UP hills and not down them. Her running days might have come to an end however with our lockdown when she did some damage to an Achilles tendon. Old fogies like her don't heal like they did when they were young.
DeleteI was out of breathe reading that! F has to keep fit or become a hermit lol ok for you admiring the view and the waves from admirers.
ReplyDeleteThere were often accidents on wet steps and hills. Now the council has roughened up the steeper hills for a better grip and finally they are putting railings on the steps.
Keep her strong!