I had an event to attend tonight about 25 miles from my house. It took me 1.5 hours to reach this place, and 30 minutes of that was spent in a tunnel under the U.S. Capitol. Plus…

I drove a car that must have a coat of grime on the inside of the windshield that caused a bunch of blind spots — and the weather was raining and foggy.

I sat through the 2.5 hours of presentations, which were good, and finally left only to find that a TRAIN is blocking all of us from returning to our cars. There is nowhere to go because we are about 40 feet from the Potomac River. So, our choices are “train” or “river” or stand outside in the foggy rain and the rainy fog until the train goes by.

But the train doesn’t go by. It moves forward. It moves back. It moves forward again. It moves back. Rinse and repeat no fewer than 10 times. At this point, I seriously consider if I can jump between the cars while the train is stopped and get to the other side. (If only I’d worn different shoes…) My other plan is to slip under the train car. That starts to seem like a great plan.

I am cold. I am tired. I am hungry.

I want warm pajamas and flannel sheets, please.

Three of us, strangers all, see that the train has moved in such a way that we can see the caboose. There is an end! However, that end is about a block away. The train still moves back and forth and back and forth. We run our fastest down a dark path to get around the last car. Victory!

I return to my car and back to dealing with the grimy windshield and the rainy foggy fog. My inability to see leads me to imagine taking an unintentional swim after my car jumps over the grass, past the Iwo Jima memorial and into the Potomac. I wonder how cold the water is now.

By now, I’ve missed my exit to DC. I must go the looooong way. This road is deliciously dark.

I get home, open the door and see the new bright red cover of 32 Poems sitting on top of a box. Husband placed it there, so it’d be the first thing I see.

This latest issue includes our first color cover.

Then, I feel grateful. This magazine was my dream, and it came together with the help of many, many fine and intelligent people. It’s amazing what collaboration can do. Our cover is designed by a well-known album cover designer (Dirk Fowler). Main Street Rag printing amazes me with suggestions that improve the look of 32 Poems. John does good work editing. Amazing, amazing.

I saw the red cover, and I just can’t stop looking at it. I could weep at the beauty of it all. I’m glad that my car didn’t go off the road into the Potomac. I’m glad I took no unintentional swims.

How about you go get yourself a copy?