From the Cowgirl

I think I’ve developed an unhealthy relationship with my bike, the most prized of my possessions here in Japan. It’s as if by naming my bike I’ve opened the door to creating a whole personality for it. Yesterday, as I dismounted my bike, I heard myself crooning “Easy Now” (because, you know, it has somewhat of a rambunctious personality). And as I heard myself uttering this, a vision of me swinging off this gorgeous horse appeared in my mind. I half expected to turn around and see my friend in chaps and a cowboy hat so powerful was the vision. The most worrisome part of this episode, however, is not the obvious. I’ve grown used to talking to myself here in Japan, addressing an inanimate object is a step up in my books. No, no. What troubles me is that my brain chose to associate my bike, my Green Pea, with a horse. A horse. I don’t like horses! I would almost have preferred a vision of me dismounting from a donkey, or better yet a camel! But no, I’m left forever with the horse. And if this is how the Green Pea wishes to be seen, then so shall it be because you don’t argue with the Pea.