Mercury’s Retrograde

The road to Austin is a fairly straight shot for me. Just hop on a freeway, take a left, and shoot up towards Austin. What usually happens, as I travel in off-hours? I tend to see the traffic piled up in the other direction, moving at the proverbial snail’s pace.

Last time, before I left, I checked the traffic on the phone-map-traffic thing. I poured myself a big insulted tumbler of coffee, thanks Sister, and got on my way. I was listening to a portion of a Shakespeare play, read aloud, and I was listening almost absent-minded, liking the rhythm of the words, but not paying too close attention to the content.

• Green Grass and High Tides

Little background music as “Kings and queens bow and play for you….”

I stopped, as is my wont, to fetch a gilded mermaid coffee at the last free exit headed into Austin. It’s sort of at a crossroads, where a blues man makes a deal with the devil. However, for me, it’s just coffee, convenient, 2nd generation coffee. Strong enough, bitter enough, and on a cold winter’s day, warm enough. Filled up that insulated tumbler again, and checked the phone for the map thing.

Mercury’s Retrograde

The directions weren’t straight. This is the second time in recent memory when the freeway’s been closed to construction or other impediment, and the little direction finder suggested a different route.

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Because I am guided by the stars, I tend to allow for such unfortunate situations, allow room in the schedule for the predictably unpredictable Austin traffic.

I am unsure if the blame falls on Mercury’s Retrograde, the directions from a phone, or just Austin’s notorious and ill-fated traffic.

I don’t know.

I do know that allowance and apparent directional detours are required to successfully navigate the next few weeks.

Mercury’s retrograde starts in Pisces but slips backwards into Aquarius in March, just long enough to disturb our thinking, and leave the direction up in the air.

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the Portable Mercury Retrograde

Portable Mercury Retrograde – Kramer Wetzel