Get outta my dreams....

A couple of years after we moved to Sharon, I started going to an aerobics class two or three evenings a week. If memory serves, the class was held at a space that served as a dance studio for children. The instructor was a high school French teacher by day, and had developed a passion for aerobic dance that led her to start this class. With all the things I have long since forgotten, I still remember that her name was Jeanne Roulleau, and I can still picture that petite, energetic, warm, and always smiling woman.

When I first started going to the class, I was rather overweight and woefully out of shape. My pulmonary function was probably already on the decline, although I did not realize that until a few years later. Still, I was in my mid 30s and I persevered and little by little was eventually able to keep up with Jeanne. I also managed to shed quite a bit of weight, although it was not the first nor would it be the last time I gained and then lost those pounds.

One of the things I most enjoyed about the class was the music. She was familiar with a wide variety of music, and spent a lot of time selecting songs that had just the correct tempo for each phase of the routine: warm-up, high energy, cool-down. She would develop a routine that we would use for a few months until she had the next one ready. There are some songs that resonated so well for me that I can still remember parts of the routines that went with them. One is Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It,” which she used as a terrific cool-down. Another song has stuck in my mind for all these years. I was not familiar with the song or the artist when I first heard it in her class, but it was perfect for that part of the routine: “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” written and recorded by a British fellow named Billy Ocean.

I found myself humming this tune because we just bought a new car. All those trips to Sharon had racked up a lot of miles on our car, and before we started sinking too much money into repairs, we decided it was time to replace the car. So it was not surprising that I found myself humming this tune.

  

I have a license but I have not driven in years, and it is likely that I will never drive this car. My sense of direction and ability to respond appropriately to so many stimuli is not consistent with the ability to safely operate a nearly two ton machine. However, we put the title in my name so that we could obtain New York disability license plates. Among the qualifying criteria for such plates is poor pulmonary function, so we did not have to go further than my pulmonologist to complete the application. It turned out to be a little complicated to actually obtain the plates for a new car: the dealer does not do this, so we picked up the car with the standard plates. This morning we drove over to the Department of Motor Vehicles. We found a parking space about a block away. Initially, before removing the license plates, we both went inside to ensure that they in fact would be able to issue the disability plates (you never know how much misinformation you have been given). We then went back to the car and took off the plates, which Barry took inside to do the exchange while I waited in the car, hoping that we would not be ticketed for leaving our car parked on the street with no plates. When Barry returned, he had to (again) take a number and wait on line. This time, the person claimed that the form was a copy and did not have my original signature. It was, in fact, the original: I had signed it in black ink. So Barry returned to the car and had me sign it again with blue ink. Then he went back inside, took another number, waited in line again, finally was called, and this time the person said they could not accept the form because a change had been made with my new blue signature. They said we would have to go back to my pulmonologist and have her sign a new form, with my signature in blue ink. At that point, Barry requested to speak to a supervisor. Fortunately, the supervisor agreed that this was a minor change and they let it go through and Barry was handed the disability plates. So the DMV took quite a bit longer than we had anticipated, but what else is new?

Now I just have to replace the New York City parking permit, which provides special allowances for parking on City streets, I have had for quite a few years. I have set that in motion but it will take a few weeks for them to provide me with a new sign for the dashboard.

Maybe early Sunday morning, I will find a deserted parking lot and try to drive my new car!

Love,

Rebecca