“The scent of orchids
perfumes the wings
of a butterfly.” ~ Basho
The feel of summer has arrived in the soft Saluda breezes; blue drifts of hydrangea blossoms delight the eye in town gardens, a quiet blanket of June’s shaded streets wait for school to be out soon. Certain times of day bring a lull, a sense of waiting. On a warm Saturday, I drive along the curving two-lane road down to Tryon, slower than usual, hoping beyond hope to spot a runaway hubcap. Mine, of course. It’d made a break for freedom the evening before as I was making the rounds between house parties and dinner parties — I winced the moment I noticed the missing party from the front wheel: like a sudden missing tooth, it stand out!
Over the years, I’ve gone through several replacements: those critters seem to pop off easily after tire changes I’ve noticed, mainly because they’re not put back on tightly by whoever has done the tire work — of course, I’m left with the end result and find myself stuck shopping ebay for used VW hubcaps every other year. There was the miracle moment when I came back to Tryon and found two, both still in town at different locations where they’d jumped ship.