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Page 6 of 20 Just when my mind was numb with the sameness of it all, a yellow streak appeared in front of us. It was not the sun (I knew its exact position by the burning sensation on my arms). This fluorescent-colored object was ahead of us at about 11:00 o'clock. Just when I was about to ask Dave what he thought it was, we both realized at the same moment that a crop duster had joined our group. We waved enthusiastically to him and I could see his gloved hand briefly in the window. He banked away from us and took off to complete his day's work. I watched him leave with regret and realized that his world was no different than ours. We were all exploring new horizons. My posterior began to make itself known. We had been riding for about ninety minutes and I was ready to stretch. Unfortunately, the passenger sitting on a Road King does not have any place to stretch. Just when I thought rigor mortis was about to take over my lower limbs, something whooshed by us. I glimpsed the yellow streak of the single prop plane just as he swooped down to telephone line level and joined our group for a timeless moment. Every person in the group jumped - it was startling and exhilarating at the same time. Like coming over the crest of a new roller coaster, when you did not realize the other side dropped down into infinity. His plane was so close we could have touched it, had we dared. A quick pull on the stick and the nose of the little plane rose dramatically, raising the machine at a steep angle. When he cleared the high wires, he turned directly over the road, giving us a proud salute with his wings winking in the sun. Camaraderie between men and machines - is that what we shared in that timeless moment? I pondered that question for the next fifty miles. Unexpected moments like that glistened with intensity - our growing necklace of memories were studded with the jewels of glowing sunrises and sparkling yellow crop dusters.
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