As my sister Laura mentioned, “Point it straight” was another thing our dad liked to say. He would pull out this old saw when one of us was heading out behind the wheel of a car (to my mind, that car was usually the Warthog (see an earlier post), in which case he had reason to feel some concern. I imagine Mary and I, at one time or another entertained the idea, just as Laura did, of saying “unless I come to a curve,” or some other similar bit of mild smart-aleckery.

Laura’s comment got me thinking, as one does, about quantum physics. I remember howling in semi-serious rage at some PhD or other saying that planets orbiting the sun do not move in a curved path around the sun. Rather, they move in a straight line through curved space. “What in the world is the difference?” I shouted, stomping up and down the steps and pretending to slam doors.

Mind you, my Dad’s honorary PhD stood for “Poultry House Director,” but being self-taught in almost everything, maybe he did read some physics. Could be he was making a tacit reference to the concept of a straight line in two-dimension space versus one in three dimensions.

This idea (naturally) leads me to think about Route 60, aka the James A. Anderson Highway, that runs through Powhatan. The road was built years before the engineers understood the concept of frozen vision and began compensating for the phenomenon by adding twists and turns in the roads to keep the drivers alert. James A. Anderson Highway is straight as an arrow for miles and miles. Even when it goes up over hills and down into creek bottoms. A straight line through curved space. OK, I give.

One last image: Daddy used to like to get an egg basket that was about one-third full, and swing it over his head after working up a little momentum with a pendulum swing. We three little girls never failed to be amazed at how the eggs didn’t fall onto his head when they passed over.

As I cling to the outer edge of this whirling basket with its fragile cargo, there are days when I feel quite empowered to point it where I want it to go, and others when it’s all I can do to hold on and close my eyes on the scary corners.