oes life seem like it’s back to normal? I’m not there yet. Life still seems a bit offtrack and the constant reminders that there are more political elections ahead doesn’t make my life any simpler.

Probably the bigger question is … “What is normal?” For me, having a house full of cats, dogs, and a few of Nature’s creatures wandering through is normal. My wife, Kimi, has a vegetable garden that would rival any farmer’s market. With that comes lots of lizards, salamanders, worms, little itty-bitty bugs, squirrels, birds, cats, dogs, and the occasional coyote. Never a dull, or should I say quiet, moment in our backyard.

When I look up from my keyboard, I see my largest cats, Motor and Bumper, are sleeping in my favorite chair. The littlest one, Chassis, likes sleeping on top of the cable box as it is the perfect size to act as a kitty belly warmer. My computer doesn’t escape the likes of Molly or Roxy as they like the warmth that it too delivers. While I happily generate words upon words keeping the computer humming and oh-so toasty, the two of them can sleep an entire day without moving. Next, I notice that the bird feeders need refilling—both types. We offer catered food to birds who rest on perches, making sure to displace at least half of the food onto the ground where we next feed the squirrels and the like. We also have hummingbird feeders, and I can see that they too are low but theirs is a high-calorie liquid additive that I must supplement after a proper cleaning. I also saw a note on the refrigerator that tells me it’s time to get more dog and cat food. Being the eternal technology geek, I grab my phone and punch in Chewy and have them deliver to my doorstep the required and varied offerings of animal sustenance. I know I am bordering on being “something,” but COVID-19 did bring about an industry I had woefully heretofore under appreciated.

I know the reason I hide in my garage is to find peace and quiet where I can listen to music even if it’s from a long, long time ago. If I’m having a really good afternoon, then on comes the TV and I will dial up the day’s offering of sporting or racing events. If my life were back to normal, then a Saturday afternoon would be punctuated by looking up from tinkering on one of my projects to find my neighbor’s dog asleep nearby. He comes over to escape the constant torment of his “sibling” cat. I can also see across the street where my neighbor, who is truly amazing when it comes to restoring foreign brand sports cars, hard at it on his latest project. I can sit, sip, and enjoy myself for hours while he grinds away. Now, that’s cool.

Although the summer is underway the fact remains there’s lots to prepare. I never seem to have the time anymore to drive to long-distance experiences. I am looking forward to the first of, hopefully, a long string of the Triple Crown of Rodding events. While this show signifies the end of summer (after Labor Day) it is also a reminder of “fun with cars.”

All of us have our routines and while many of us have similar habits, the reality is our lives are as different as our hot rods … but there is a familiarity that leads to a kind of normalcy. I’m trying to get back to that point. Maybe I do need a long drive to an event. I should really take a peek at what’s out there and see if I can wrangle the time. I’m thinking it will be time well spent.