The Official Dancing Deer Baking Co. Blog

The first time I crossed the rain-slicked trolley tracks they caught me completely off guard and I went down really hard. Lay on the road for a minute thinking about whether my hip might be broken – in an odd state of unconcern about traffic. It seemed that it had stopped around me. Several people were there and couldn’t have been nicer. After an exchange about my condition with one gentleman and my profuse thanks to him, he had said, “There are still good people around you know” Yes. Once I collected myself and was upright I asked if I could record what he’d said and whipped out my flip cam.

So I approached the crossing of the next set of trolley tracks with caution and thought I’d be fine. Bam. Down again but on the right side so now I was at least balanced out. Third try (yes I was sure I had the wet trolley track technique by the third try) I approached them perfectly perpendicular and with caution, bam, down again. Can’t remember where I hit.

So I caught up with the support van and decided that I’d just stop on the next crossing and walk it over and we’d try to find a route that gets us away from the tracks out of Philadelphia.

Then I rode safely and relatively slowly for a mile or two searching for the left turn that would get us away from the tracks and finally saw it. Was I too tired or my brain too scrambled or was there too much camouflage on the road or my glasses too full of rain drops to see that last set of tracks? Don’t know. But that last fall was hard to get up from. Support van was in sight this time and pulled up before I’d assembled myself. Nice policeman, also passersby. I climbed in with an agreement that I’d take a ride to the outskirts of town. Hoping for better roads. Giving me time to ice my knee which, happily, was hit in an entirely new way and so didn’t reinjure any of the things I’d already been icing.

I am sure that this is all just background for what will be a particularly bright point of light some time soon. Rembrandt’s best stuff is all atmosphere and darkness and it sits there quietly in the background and allows the moment of light to reveal something beautiful, the light effect. I am always looking for the light effect and building toward it when I’m painting. Just realized I’m doing that on this ride as well.