Another tiring day today. Snowville, UT to Hermiston, OR. Not along drive, under 500 miles, but a fair amount of rain and the curves on Cabbage Hill are always a challenge.

I've mentioned before how Harri likes to nap in my arms while I drive. Her favorite position is to take my right arm, put her head in my right elbow, and sleep that way. I prefer, though, when she takes my left arm and leaves my right arm free for headlight, engine brake, and cruise control switches.

As a side note (which will tie in shortly), truckers have a traditional "salute" of sorts. When you are passing another truck you glance into the cab of the other truck and make a sort of half-wave as you pass. Sort of a "hi, how are you" gesture. Now to tie that in to Harri:

When Harri decides to nap in my left arm, she spends a fair amount of time sight-seeing out the driver's window. She will scoot herself a little further along my arm than normal until she can hang her head over my elbow and upside-downy-head out the window. I can tell she's doing that because I can see her head moving a little as she watches things go by.

When another truck passes and the other driver waves, Harri will often tilt her head a little to the side and reach for the window with both front paws. The other driver, expecting to see a truck driver wave back, is usually amazed to find an upside-down kitten in the window as well, reaching out towards him. I've got an amazing number of laughs from drivers who pass us.

Copyright © Dan Mahoney
April 22, 2005