We found a sanctuary, a person-free oasis in a sea of humanity. Let me describe that humanity: it’s nine o’clock, the early one, still breakfast time. We just got off a plane from Baltimore. In Chicago, they line the bars. The Home Run, R.J. Grunts, and The Hubbard Inn. Bloody Marys, mimosas, beers, low balls, … Continue reading Killing Time at Midway
Travel
Suitcase
I bought a new suitcase before we flew to France. We all did, my whole family. Over the years, our travel bags wore out. Broken zippers mostly, plus they were all duffels. The airline gave us specific maximum dimensions for our one allotted bag each. They had a slot at the ticket counter to measure … Continue reading Suitcase
Killing Time at ORD
I'm feeling lost and forlorn like this dropped luggage Susan spotted in the middle of the tarmac Part 5—Wednesday 5/29/24: TSA might be watching. The age-old question: am I killing (a.k.a. wasting) time, or is it time to kill? My back faces the glass wall overlooking the runway, only one person can see my screen. … Continue reading Killing Time at ORD
Hillbillies, Fallingwater & Missingteeth
Last weekend, we ate at Hillbilly's Pub and Grub—Donegal, Pennsylvania’s only non-pizza sit down restaurant. Not that I’ve got anything against pizza, but c’mon, Hillbilly's Pub and Grub? Ya gotta try it. Susan got fish and chips. She said it was fine. I got a burger and onion rings. Holy cow, what a burger! The … Continue reading Hillbillies, Fallingwater & Missingteeth
The Big Trees
Two-thirty in the morning, awake, paralyzed with pain. I turned on the TV for distraction. Counting the minutes until my next morphine dose. This went badly. Me: Hey it’s been four hours since my last dose, can I have my morphine now? Nurse: I already gave you your morphine. You need to wait four more … Continue reading The Big Trees
¿ Dinner ?
I’m traveling up the coast. I found a pizza place online and ordered my dinner over the phone: Me: I'd like to order a Stromboli roll. Guy: Just One? Me: Oh, I don't know, how big are they? Are they much food? Guy: Well, how many do you want. Me: I don't know, is one … Continue reading ¿ Dinner ?
The Drop Off
“Oh!” "What?" "I think I forgot my shoes." Flashback to twenty-five minutes earlier, Sophie walking out of the house barefoot. Me: “Hey, are your shoes in the car?” Eye roll. We just got back on track. Not from the shoe incident (although we did return home to get her shoes) but from a missed turn. … Continue reading The Drop Off
Ubers and Scooters
“Can someone else sit up front?” This was me talking after my third Uber ride. There are loads of ways for tourists to traverse Paris. Autobus, Taxi, Batobus, Metro, marcher péniblement, and of course, Uber. We’ve utilized several of these, but when we have some distance to cover in a hurry, our go-to is … Continue reading Ubers and Scooters
Hole N’’The Rock
Carved into a cliff twelve miles south of Moab, Utah sits Hole N’’The Rock. That’s how it’s spelled, with a quotation mark--or maybe a pair of apostrophes--used as a separator. I don't know why. It’s a home, or it was forty-five years ago. Fifties kitsch, the real stuff, not knock off replicas, decorates the place. … Continue reading Hole N’’The Rock
Jeff’s Travel Disk
I’m not used to driving this car; too much weight, too much muscle. Alternatively, I drive too fast, and then too slow. But I’m always in fast-mode when I blow past a cop. Always hitting the brakes a few seconds too late. How fast is too fast? Seventy-five? Eighty? My stomach drops and my breathing … Continue reading Jeff’s Travel Disk
Ennui
Warning: This is long - 2,700 words. Ruminate on my past. Young-adult D.C. shuts down on Thanksgiving weekend. By young-adult, I mean over-twenty-one-but-not-yet-married-and-raising-families. As opposed to the literary genre that attracts readers aged eleven to seventeen. DC's young professionals, the yuppies, they all clear out. They go back to wherever they came from. They spend a … Continue reading Ennui
Worms
“My mom has worms in her butt.” Aw, kids say the darndest things. Fortunately, at least for Susan, this wasn’t my kid. It was my nephew. Announcing a fact about his mom. Worms! Butt! This was old news. Decades old. Said mom, Carolyn, had pinworms when she was a child. Her son, now six, just … Continue reading Worms
The Other Stuff 