I drive through this busy intersection at least once a day, and often multiple times.  Occasionally there is a police trap at the underpass… always pulling over unsuspecting victims - some forgetful, some who procrastinate, but I suspect mostly those who cannot afford to update their cars in order to pass the state inspection.   

I moved past the sting operation up to the light, sitting there as I usually do, this time thinking of those poor individuals who will face even more of a financial burden from these expensive tickets.  Glancing down at the sidewalk to my left, I noticed a pigeon who seemed to be doing an odd dance around a small mass on the ground.  

She would sometimes walk over the mass, or carefully prod it with her beak, and then occasionally puff up her breast feathers, appearing to want to sit on it, which quickly awakened my senses to the ritual before me.  The small lump on the pavement was a tiny, lifeless, baby bird, its exposed bare rump partially covered with what appeared to be a miniature wing… the first feathers beginning to grow from the perfect, little form.

My heart sank a bit, saddened by her desperate attempt to mother this unfortunate little soul.  Falling from a nest built high under those giant, grid-rafters that support the freeway above, could only end the life of such a small thing.  

The light changed, and I had to pull away.  In that brief moment I was left with the image of a mother trying to give what she could to her small baby so far from the nest.  I tell myself that however a pigeon may grieve, she does so quickly and returns to nourish her other fledglings.  Even though there is no shortage of pigeons, and some even consider them a nuisance, I am gently nudged by my sense of compassion, wonder, and the reminder of our own vulnerability.

Days later the metaphor still played upon my thoughts... how we nurture a thing, an idea, a project, a relationship, but sometimes what we create falls from the nest.  We go through our grieving, our sense of failure, or even guilt, but one must get back to the nest, where other new life waits for us with all of its promise to flourish.

It always takes longer to load a vehicle with art than to unload it, and somehow the punishing ritual (heavy wooden panels in my case) seems to coincide with that slightly numb feeling that comes at the end of an exhibition.  "Wait, what just happened?  It's over?"

But getting past how time flies when your art is on exhibition, I was very happy to know that when I delivered my work,  I was able to fit so many pieces into my new car… a 2013 Honda Fit.  I purchased it brand new several months ago because it is a sub-compact car with great ratings, good gas millage and a reasonable price tag… not to mention that my other car had stopped running… again.  

One of the best claims for the Fit was the roomy interior space, and they weren't kidding.  This recent series of art had a few 36"x 48"x 3" paintings, and the rest were just slightly smaller at 32"x 48"x 3" - in all, 11 pieces, plus 6 pieces of wire sculpture.  After carefully placing all into the back (rear seats fold down flat), I could still see out the entire back window for safe driving!

I would not call the Fit a sexy car… not a head-turner like my Mini Cooper was, although there does seem to be a kind of cult following - "Fit Enthusiasts", they like to call themselves and usually much younger people than myself.  Comparing these two cars, I can honestly say that even though the Mini had more get-up-and-go, the Fit has its own zippy pep for such a small engine... quite impressive.

I still have the Mini, although the 12-year-old car is quite dead at the moment.  It sits on my driveway looking a bit sad, collecting multiple layers of yellow pollen and dust, which is quite the look for a car whose original color is yellow, with a white roof.  There is a part of me that does not want to let go of this car… it was such fun to drive, when it wasn't needing so much attention.  Don't get me started.

Anyway, getting back to the Fit, I once had a Toyota Rav 4 that could not hold this amount of art…. not even close!  And, we had to take out the back seats… an absolute pain, to say the least.  I feel like I just did an info-commercial, but I promise no one prompted me.  I would have been happy to receive some incentive from Honda, but this is just an honest-to-goodness review from a very happy artist.  No more driving around some sort of SUV that costs too much and eats up more gas just to have enough room in the back for the semi-rare occasion to move some art.

Did I mention it is a stick-shift?  God, I love driving this car around town.  Oh, and 4 doors ( actually 5 when you count the hatchback door)… how nice to able to take a few friends somewhere.  Next, a road trip :)