Captain is my uncle's dog (Cappy for short). He's a little poodle, and he doesn't like me too much. We think it might be the beard. I think that's pretty typical for poodles. He's calm right now though, sitting in my cousin's lap.
And for that matter, my niece is not a fan of beards either. I saw her on Friday when I arrived in Ohio, and boy, did she cry when I tried to play with her. Of course, it's only the second time I've met her so she doesn't even know who I am. Maybe her dad should grow a beard; then we'll see what happens...
So yes, I got in Friday night to my mother's - to a room full of nephews, niece, brother, and sniveling sisters (I hope they're reading). It was a bit much after being on the road for 3 hours, but I didn't mind... seeing everyone in one spot. My nephew Scottie cracks me up... he seems so grown up and articulate for a 4 year old.
I woke up Saturday morning, and drove out to my grandparents house to pick up 10 dozen ears of sweet corn. Man, people (people? no one even reads these! ha!), I do have to say, you haven't seen corn until you've seen this stuff. Such beautiful works of art, each and every single one. Not at all like the junk you see at the grocery store, or the farmer's markets for that matter. I am most confident when I say that you haven't actually *had* sweet corn until you've had it from the Williams farm. Not to mention, the zucchinis... my family grows them to about the size of my forearm. Ridiculous.
I talked to my youngest sister that morning. She was out helping with the corn. That was nice. It's nice to have an understanding with a family member without pressure. She knew I didn't have time to see her, didn't complain about it, and that's just how it goes sometimes. I'll see her in a month when she gets married. When you're youngest sister gets married, I can imagine it's almost like watching your daughter get married. I certainly changed enough of those diapers at least, so I'm within in my right.
Ohio drivers are the worst. I mean, there are bad drivers everywhere, but in Ohio, the drivers are rude, inconsiderate, oblivious, and reckless. I think they need to make all Ohio drivers retake a new, extra-hard driver's exam, and take away the licenses of those who don' t pass.
Musically, I kicked off the morning with the Dirtbombs. I really just wanted to hear "Kung-Fu" and then turned into "Ultraglide in Black" and (most of) "Dangerous Magical Noise"... I grew tired of it though, and switched to shuffle. My playlist was dominated with Eleni Mandell and Tom Waits, which shouldn't be any surprise considering how much music I have by each.
I crossed the Ohio River from Cincinnati into Covington, KY, and called my aunt and uncle. She let me know she was making grilled pork roast that evening. Mmmmmm... pork. I didn't have the heart to tell her though that I'm laying off the meat. I didn't want to ruin her plans for everyone else. But the Ohio River around Cinci is one of the grossest looking bodies of water I've ever seen. Maybe I just forgot how bad it was, but it was brown and glossy - like it was full of chemical waste. Nasty.
It was a pretty smooth drive until I hit Lexington. Apparently, I didn't see that the speed limit went from 70 to 65 and got nailed just before I-75 departed for Knoxville. Crap. My second ticket in less than a month. I can't afford to be speeding. The officer was a nice man though. He said he'd have me out of there in just a sec, and when I asked what the total penalty he would be, he admitted that he felt that it was a bit too steep and the state will try to bleed you any way they can. He was some little Kentucky dud with a Kentucky mustache, and he was without a doubt, the nicest person who's ever pulled me over for traffic infractions.
I slowed down for the rest of the trip after that, generally never going more than 5 over. Just before Knoxville, I saw a Steak and Shake sign, and knew I'd be stopping. Right around that same time, a Delta 88 song came on. So I got my shake. I know it's all mental, but my feet had been slightly achy and arthritic from all the driving, and the shake... made it all go away. Just like last weekend, when my toe swelled up, I had a strawberry smoothie and it magically went away.
It was local music the rest of the way... Delta 88, Misty Lyn, Matt Jones, Bathgate. Once I hit Atlanta, I had to hear "Dear Atlanta" by Centro-matic and listened to that EP. Then it was back to Frontier Ruckus. I got past Atlanta, about an hour from my relatives in Greensboro, and stopped at Waffle house for eggs, tomatos and toast. Then this guy comes in, who seemed to know a lot of the people working and whoever, and sits down next to me... "There's nothing going on over at the VFW hall. I had a beer and there was nothing going so I left" (to one of the employees). Then he sees another person, and the same thing... then another person, and they same thing, only adding ("...there was nothing going on, just a bunch of people dancing...") (!!!)
Excuse me? There were people dancing, but nothing was going on? Apparently people like to dance and you're hanging at the wrong place dude, and besides, what could be funnier than watching those people dance? The entertainment possibilities are endless. Anyway, 2 more people came through and he said it again. I quickly paid my $3.19 and got out of there.
I finally arrived the Harbor Club - the gated community where my aunt and uncle live - at 9:59pm. I told my aunt I'd probably be in around 10, and well, I was right on the freaking dot. We hung out for a while and caught up, then I was off to bed. I booted up my laptop when I was going to sleep, but passed out with it resting on my stomach, while it was booting up. This is not uncommon for me. I often wake up in the middle of the night with a computer, a notebook, a guitar, what have you...
I learned this morning that I grew up drinking unpasteurized, raw milk. I'm happy about this fact. And that my uncle fired multitudes of test rounds on the island of Vieques in 1968. I'm fascinated by this fact. And amused by his statement that that people in Massachusetts are 2-faced liberals. That is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. I'm in a red state people, in a military home.
Today, I'm on my way to Tampa to see SG and Rachel Lynn. It's only about 7 hours from here, so it should be a fairly smooth drive. It's going to be so HOT, and I can't wait. I'll probably take in some baseball, some music, and some beach. I'm looking forward to relaxing and being lazy. That's what vacation is all about to me.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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