Mercury Retrograde

I have a friend who will remain nameless--Barry, if you must know--who announces periodically the coming and going of the planet Mercury, ascribing to its sojourn through the solar system certain metaphysical properties. I can't say categorically that his claims are invalid. Well, I could I suppose. But I read it right here on the Internet that "at 15:49 UT (Universal Time), on Monday, May 26th, 2008, Mercury the cosmic trickster [turned] retrograde in Gemini, the sign of the Twins, sending communications, travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarl up!" So it must be true.

Now that you know this I'm sure you can think of many substantiating occurrences in recent days where you ran into trouble with communications, travel, appointments, mail and the web. I know I have. Debbie and I had words over a minor incident. I tried to book travel and couldn't get the flights I wanted. My boss and I set up several appointments and he didn't show. My mailbox has been flooded with junk mail. And believe it or not the Internet went down on Deb's computer. None of these things ever happen when Mercury is in whatever the opposite is of "retro"grade. As if.

This morning was a prime example. Wanting to beat the afternoon heat, I decided to take an early bike ride. I pedaled down Ross Road and headed up East Meadow toward the hills. I stopped obediently at the light at Middlefield, stood patiently beside a schoolgirl also waiting to cross. When the light turned green--ever the schoolboy wanting to impress--I attempted to peel out, but flailed helplessly as the cleat on the sole of my shoe slipped right off the pedal. Mercury retrograde.

I finally got in gear and was really taking in the perfect Palo Alto morning. Heading up a shallow incline on Arastradero I gently--or so I thought--dropped into a lower gear. Agggh!!! The chain slipped past all the gears and wedged itself inextricably around the axle. Man I tugged and spun at it, flipped the bike in all directions to grab it from a different angle. Finally. Finally got it unstuck. Mercury retrograde.

Then it was time to take on my greatest nemesis--the steep slope staring just past the 280 overpass. I decided today, if I were to do nothing else but ride up here everyday until I could ascend this hill without stopping it would carry me a long way to Eilat. Not unexpectedly the pain in my legs and the shortness of breath forced me to rest. Feeling restored I perched myself atop my tiny black bike seat to continue onward and upward. Debbie recently inquired about the difficulty of starting a bike on a steep incline. "No problem, " I assured her. "You're in low gear--you start right up." Not in Mercury retrograde. My right foot again slipped off the pedal. My weight went to the left where my foot was securely attached to the left pedal. I was coming to a standstill with no power and visions of toppling dancing in my head when to my great relief I extricated my left foot and rather than falling over managed to only mash my right leg against the front gears tattooing my calf with a black and red rendering of the teeth.

Mercury in retrograde--a three week malevolent fortune cookie that visits three times a year! It is easy to look at these occurrences in its reflection. And there is another side to it.

I fixed the Internet connection. So I'm a hero. The junk mail won't go away, but I got a great book on prayer from Amazon in very short order. My boss will continue to make and break appointments--it's okay. Better than having him breathing down my neck. I didn't get the flights I originally wanted, but what I ended up with will open up opportunities to meet different people and do unexpected things. Debbie and I made up faster than ever. We have learned that communications are not always what we want them to be. We have learned that our time together is too precious to get bogged down by our mistakes.

The next time Mercury goes retrograde will be September 24. Order will not be restored in the Universe until October 31. We fly to Florence on the 29th so we may just catch the tail end of the travel issues. Then again we'll be using miles and will be in first class--perhaps that will protect us.

As for the rest of our travels--Stockholm to visit Deb's sister Judi and family--Deb and Judi to Nairobi to visit our niece Liza--and me of course onto Israel--we'll just have to do without the excitement, the challenges, and the opportunities of confronting a Mercury retrograde.