Today we took the ring to it’s final resting place. It was a difficult and perilous journey. Many were severely injured along the way, and yes my clothes got stained. What’s this you may ask, did we got to Mt Mordor? No my friends, I shall answer clenching my hand into a fist, today we went to Toledo. And I will raise my hand in the air as a silent cheer of victory for both me and all of my kind.
This trip to Toledo had been a premeditated journey. My dear friend Swanky, the one and only J-Rabbit, had a long lasting entanglement, involvement, at one point engagement with one such; the brave knight Doob. Their relationship had been strong as the best mithril once upon a time. Unfortunately time and distance is a cruel nasty dragon. Long story short people change. People decide they want new things out of life. My best of friendship miss Swanky does know she had done wrong by the good man Doob. She knows of the pain he suffers and she has felt for sometime now she must make things right. After this all communication is to be ceased for fear of things getting tangled as they have time and time again. That is a pain they must both endure in order to truly charge forward.
So today I accompanied like a loyal Samwise Gamgee to my Frodo on a mission. Aside from that dreaded ring we also had to return boxes of magic cards, and one very worn pair of blue pajama pants. We both knew he was being petty but we both agreed that he has a right to be so.
We started our journey by waiting over half an hour for my overly sweet Mc Donalds latte. The sky is a sea of dark gray colds. The wind is a bitter stinging cold that seems to snap and bite the second you get comfortable.
Within an hour on the highway we are slowed to a stop by a car accident. We are in time to see chunks of metal still scattered across the road. We see the fire trucks and ambulance charge up the on ramp like some weary souls dying grace. I see not two miles later a black cat roaming amongst the grass on the side of the highway. At first I think; what a dangerous location. But as my paranoia deepens I begin to find it suspicious.
We encounter our second traffic jam a mere fifteen minuets away from our destination. Black ice is oddly common today. Sure this is one of the first snows of the winter but I like to imagine it has something to do with the evil black cats lurking about. As a matter of fact, as we were waiting to make our way through I noticed yet another black cat sifting through the grassy bank along side the highway.
So we arrive and I wait in the car. I watch as though the windows were tinted but they aren’t. I’m just that rude. I observe both faces to be flushed with expressions held tight, almost unreadable from all the withheld emotions. She leans in the backseat and sigh’s before removing the ring from her finger. She places it on top of those well worn, well loved pants. It sits on them like a wedding ring might sit on top of a silken pillow. She presents it to him as such, on top of a magic cards binder. She disappears inside for a minuet and returns with a few boxes that are now her own. The trade is complete.
She climbs inside and turns on the car. In silence I hear only the tires backing up over the gravel driveway. She shifts gears and we’re out on the street. She sighs as though she’d been holding her breath for six minuets straight. Then she turns to me and smiles. The weight of the ring had finally been lifted.
In Toledo we brave the cold to check out the art museum. I climb around on the outdoor statues like a child at a jungle gym. When Swanky finally joins me in goofing off like an unsupervised kindergartner I can smile feeling satisfied that I had done my job as travel companion. I should be certified as a Samwise Gamgee. Professional tag along, motivational side kick.
We feast in celebration at Glass City Cafe. The atmosphere is delightful, in an old hand-built kind of way. They have a Blue grass breakfast every Saturday morning which features a special menu and a live (absolutely excellent) blue grass band.
Glass City Cafe has the attitude and prices of a greasy diner with the food of a mad genius grandma. The interior is like a vintage bar. The band was good enough to be seen in concert but authentic enough to be sitting outside in Appalachia. Needless to say I like the place.
We both ate their delightful ruben omelet. It’s served with rye bread on the side with jam but we both preferred to turn out omelets into Sand-witches. I recommend saving half to eat as is because that omelet should really be worshiped in it’s unaltered form. I had originally wanted to eat the mush and sausage with a side of home fries but they’d ran out which was a total bummer. If I ever come back to Toledo I do hope it is on a Saturday morning so I might get a second chance for that.
I should also note that the bottle of hot sauce was a little clogged. Me being a hot head I wanted to well cover my last two bites. I squeezed and squeezed that plastic bottle. When it finally released it sort of exploded out. Hot sauce got on my shirt, plate and table. I do apologize to the waitress who had to clean that up. I feel I gave a decent tip and take no responsibility for J-rabbits.
On the drive home we pass one last black cat lingering on the side of the highway but encounter no traffic jams. Perhaps I had been wrong about those dark slinky felines. Perhaps they weren’t spying but instead looking out and protecting us along our journey.
The road is clear as we fly down the highway. The sky above us is being broken by streams of sunlight. My friend relays the phase of her life that is now over, but I sense more relief than sadness from her now. And our mission is complete.