Thursday, September 08, 2005
Song of the Day:
-Motley Crue Home Sweet Home
This was the song I heard on the radio as I climbed into the car, having just left the office I had worked in for the past 5 years, so that I could move west, and find my new home.
Rather appropriate, I thought. Or, at least better than "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. There they are a-standin in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head!"
Day 2
After the failure of 2 seperate tires, the emotional goodbyes, and a hot sun pouring down on the little ones, everyone's nerves were in tatters, and needed mending. In 1 day, we were only able to get out of Minnesota. And only then just barely. If the rest of the trip were to go like this, we would be sunk. For whatever reason, Minnesota didn't want to let us go. Or at least, not before it got in a few more licks on our psyche. Minnesota was the bitter ex-girlfriend; she wanted you gone, but hated to see you go. So if you were going to leave, she was going to make sure you hurt too on your way out. Or maybe it was a case of Minnesota sabotaging our departure, in vain hopes that we would change our minds and turn around and return.
But there was nothing for me personally to return to. I had friends and family, but there was no job to return to. There was no home for me. There was no future for me in Minnesota. And despite the presence of those who I loved, Minnesota would always carry a dark stain; memories of what was, what used to be, what could have been, and even what wasn't but always had hoped for. There wasn't anywhere I could look without some sort of reminder of that former life. Here, the resteraunt we went to on Easters. there is the park we went to that day. Over there is the zoo that the girls went to. There is the resteraunt I wanted to go to together, but never made the time for. Yes, even places that I DIDN'T go to held memories for me. Places I had always planned to visit but never got around to doing. Things that through my own nature, I placed too much value to. But because it is within my nature to do so, I cannot remove either. So rather than be tortured by these things, it was better for my mind and soul to find a place that I had no ties to in any real way.
We arose the morning of day 2 in our hotel room refreshed. The tendrils of the first day clung to us, but not with the strength they had the previous night. After helping ourselves to the continental breakfast, we got the girls into their swimsuits for a well-deserved swim. After the day they had gone through, they deserved a little down time to splash in the pool and relax. The pool seemed ot help wash away their frustration and anxiety, at least for a time,a nd refreshed their spirit.
While they splashed in the pool, with Aunt Ginger (my sister) close by to watch, I set out to make sure the next leg of our journey went smoothly. Having 2 tires on the same side of the trailer go bad, and knowing that at some point we were going to encounter mountain passes, I wanted to be sure taht I wasn't going to encounter any further problems at some point where we were next to a 300ft. sheer dropoff. Changing a tire at that point would probably push my stress level to new heights.
So I took the van and trailer to a local tire store. I explained that the driver side wheel on the trailer is still good, but that I have a brand new tire that I would like to mount. I also explained that the lug nuts are on tighter than I am capable of loosening, and asked that they use the air gun to loosen them for me. At which point I could replace the tire myself. They agreed to do so at no charge, and sent the yong garage monkey out to loosen them for me.
the familiar whine of the air gun sounded on the first lugnut, and then came the sound of a "crack".
"oops."
My mind immediately sprang to the old Bill Cosby routine?
"'Oops?' What do you mean 'oops'? I know what I mean when I say 'oops'. What do you mean when you say 'oops' there?"
The lugnut had broken, so that the top and outside portion had broken off completely. the inside and lower half of the lugnut remained ON the mounting bolt, and completely un-removeable. It turns out that the bolt the lugnuts were on were REVERSE-THREADED. Which means that when the young man had tried to loosen them as he probably has millions of times before, he went by the old standard of "lefty-loosey, righty-tighty". Which of course, reminds me; If you are ever going to ahve a daughter, never ever EVER give her the name or nickname of "Lefty". Not that "Righty" is all that much better, come to think of it.
Anyway, he tightened down the lugnut even further, when he thought he was loosening it. the strain proved to be too much for the lugnut,and part of it broke away under the stress. I can relate. The kid doing the work wasn't to blame. He had no way of knowing. We were able to remove the others without problem once we figured it out. BUt that one lugnut was stuck as it was. If I were to get a flat tire right there, we were completely sunk. The brand new tire would ahve to suffice as the spare tire, and it would only come to our rescue if the OTHER brand new tire that was mounted on the pasenger side gave way. And if that happened, I would dump the trailer down the nearest ravine in frustration.
So the kid puthte other lugnuts back on, tightened them down, and I climbed in to drive off. Only, the kid had used his own jack to lift the trailer and forgot to put it down. A little bit of scratched pavement later (about 2 feet) I stopped the van, and realived the problem. He sheepishly came back out to get his jack, and I headed back to the hotel to collect the kids.
Once there, the kids were already out and ready to go. We settled the bill, and climbed into the van, with the intent on making it to Billings, MT. However, we left at about 10:30am, which meant a very hard push to get there.
Fargo was the town I had grown up in as a kid. There were many spots I would ahve liked to haved stopped to pay final respects to. My grandparents burial site for one. Some of the different apartments I had lived in. The Mexican Village restaraunt, which was the basis of all mexican food for me from then on. (Some have been better, many have been worse. But none of them were the first as Mexican Village was.) But fargo has grown haphazardly over the years, with no real plan. It's like the first few cities you build in Sim-City. You're just fooling around, with no real idea where the industrial or commercial or residential spots are. And soon enough it becomes a huge clusterfark. That's Fargo today. And Fargo is another part of that past that is better left there, rather than trying to pull it forward as part of my future.
Well, only a little way out of town did we realize we were going to have to stop for gas and some snacks. So we stopped in Casselton, gassed up, and hit the road again. And if that sounds rather bland, dull and routine with no hint of interest whatsoever, well, welcome to the eastern and central part of North Dakota. A vast... well that is the best way to put. Just a vast blank. The nice thing about driving through North Dakota is that should you fall asleep behind the wheel (as you may be lulled to sleep by the nothingness), there is nothing for miles upon miles for you to run into. At worst, you might end up with a sunflower plant in your air conditioner fan. However, we came up with a theory. When traveling west across North Dakota, the state lulls you into very low expectations for it, and then dazzles you as you hit the western sliver of the state an hour or so beyond Bismark/Mandan. Once there, you'll find the painted mountains and the Teddy Roosevelt State Park.
But before we could get there, we had to stop into Bismark to get gas again. While filling up and getting directions for a place to eat, another highway traveler pointed out a small problem. It seems that for an undetermined amount of time, the mounting plate for the shock on the passenger side of the trailer had rusted off, and it was dragging along the ground behind us.
uh huh. Well.
Supressing the urge to give the trailer some sort of Viking Funeral by loading it onto a boat and then setting it aflame, I took what extra bungee cords I had, and rigged the shock to keep from dragging on the ground. It had gotten us this far. It was time to drag the rapidly aging trailer through gritted teeth,and hold it together with sheer will power. And bungee cords.
Besides, where in North Dakota were we going to find a lake big enough to pull that off?
That would be a rhetorical question. Rhetorical. I know what that means. Do you?
After a dinner, we got back onto the road. More flat expanses. And then, you round a bend, and you find yourself smack dab at the edge of the badlands. North Dakota had made up for itself for the absolute drabness of it's existence up to that point with a gorgeous display of beauty.
The transformation from bleak to awe-inspiring is instant. It would be like if you were to ahve a rice crispy bar, and have it magically turn into Cindy Crawford in her prime on the next to last bite.
You wanna eat me?
(That of course, would be another RHETORICAL question.)
I had been to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park before. When my maternal grandmother was dying of cancer 20-some years ago, she was determined to spend time with me, so that I wouldn't forget her. So she, my grandfather, my mother and I all travelled out to Tacoma to visit my cousins. One of the stops we made was here. And now here I was with my own children. Sharing something with them that she shared with me. Science and time and experience tells me different. I know of erosion by wind and rain and other elements such as traffic by animals and humans can change the soil drastically over the span of 20-plus years. But my heart was soothed by the thought that the great-grandchildren she no doubt would ahve adored were possibly standing in the same dust she did. They looked across the horizon and took in the same mountains that I had gazed upon while holding her hand. It was a very little thing to pass along, but I had passed on the experience that she had given to me. And even better, my grandmother's name had been Mary Anna.
Her namesake, Anna Victoria, was holding my hand.
Having soaked up the nostalgia, I tried to capture the moment in my head, my eyes doing their best to act like Kodak cameras, recording every detail I could, and then we loaded back into the van for the last push for Billings.
We only made it as far as Miles City though. One there, it was about 9pm. We stopped to get gas, and then devised a gameplan. If we were going to push to Billings, we ahd better make sure there is a room waiting for us. So we called ahead, but found that there wasn't a single hotel room available, beause of some sort of fair going on. It didn't make much sense to drive 2 hours to find no place to sleep. So we found a hotel in town, and checked in. Despite the 9pm check in, we had the kids swim for an hour or so, and then got some sleep. To make up for our lost time, we would try to get all the way to Spokane WA the following day.
But for such a long push (all the way across Montana, Idaho and into Washington), it would require alot of patience, some luck with the trailer, and even some understanding from the kids. It wasn't going to be easy...
Football preview:
The 2005 NFL season kicks off tonight, with the Oakland Raiders battling the World Champion New England Patriots. The ultimate "team" team vs. the ultimate "ME" team.
The Oakland Raiders on paper have alot more premier talent on their roster than the New england Patriots. They have Randy Moss, Kerry Collins, Lamont Jordan, Charles Woodson (a Michigan guy), Warren Sapp, Jerry Porter and others. they have a massive offensive line to pass and run block. But how well does any of it work together? Alot of the guys mentioned above have been known to but themselves and their interests ahead of the teams interests, ESPECIALLY Moss. So as great of a collection of talent as it may be, it doesn't do any good if they are unable to work together.
The Raiders offense has a respectable but not great running game in place. that works fine for them, because the passing attack is where they make their money. The offense is built perfectly for Moss, since it asks him to do what he is best at...run right down the field (avoid going over the middle, you'll notice) and catch the ball in jump ball situations. despite his faults, the best thing Kerry Collins has going for him is his arm. He can throw it deep, which is exactly what the Oakland Al-Davis' want. With even more speed on the other side in Porter, and even more behind tht in Curry, the Raiders have the offense they want. On defense, they ahve some pieces here and there, but I have to say that there is so many self-centered players, I have no trust in any of them to do all that much.
Which makes my pick alot easier. Because if I DID have any faith, i would point out that this WR grooup could do alot of damage to a Patriots secondary that is nowhere near as talented as what they have had before. Ty Law is gone (he WAS around for the beginning of the year, remember) and the replacements are a definate step down. the safeties for the Pats are still pretty good, with Eugene Wilson, but the corners are just average guys. I would expect them to try to jam the Wr's as much as possible and blitz the LB corps, especially on the outside. Err, uh...correct that. The OLB's will be doing the blitzing, but they'll come from inside, outside, up the middle, from the edge, up, down, Inside out. and Round and Round. (the Diana Ross approach, you know.)
When the Patriots take the ball, it is the same story it was before. the Patriots have an offensive line that is made up of under-appreciated blue-collar guys that aren't the best at their position, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The WR's are above average guys, but given any sunday, they could dominate the field, if you let them. Charles Woodsone will eliminate one of them, but whomever he takes out, it will leave the other open. The Raiders no longer ahve a set of corners that can remove the passing game as they supposedly had before. And the safeties...Derrick Gibson can hit but can't cover. And this Schweigert kid I remember form thedraft a year or so ago. But I don't know enough about him to have any confidence. I am sure the Raiders defense isn't as bad as I picture it in my mind, because they have some talent there. But I just can't see them keeping the Patriots under 24 points. I would expect the raiders will play conservative defense at first, maybe with a bit of an edge towards stopping the run. But for the most part, sitting back a bit, trying to figure out how the Patriots plan on attacking them.
Last year, if you remember, everyone expected the Patriots to come out pounding the ball with then-new addition Corey Dillon. Instead, they passed something like 16 straight times before they attempted the first run. The Raiders will remember this, and will take a wait and see approach on defense, I think.
Ultimately, though, I think the Patriots will win this game.
I'll be back later this weekend with my picks for the rest of the weeks games. And more about our trip out west. And more pictures, which you are probably looking for a this point.
But don't worry. We still have to talk Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders.
You know that I seem
To make romantic dreams
Up in lights, fallin' off
The silver screen
My heart's like an open book
For the whole world to read
Sometimes nothing -
keeps me together
At the seams
I'm on my way
Well, I'm on my way
Home sweet home
Tonight tonight
I'm on my way
Just set me free
Home sweet home
-Motley Crue Home Sweet Home
This was the song I heard on the radio as I climbed into the car, having just left the office I had worked in for the past 5 years, so that I could move west, and find my new home.
Rather appropriate, I thought. Or, at least better than "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. There they are a-standin in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head!"
Day 2
After the failure of 2 seperate tires, the emotional goodbyes, and a hot sun pouring down on the little ones, everyone's nerves were in tatters, and needed mending. In 1 day, we were only able to get out of Minnesota. And only then just barely. If the rest of the trip were to go like this, we would be sunk. For whatever reason, Minnesota didn't want to let us go. Or at least, not before it got in a few more licks on our psyche. Minnesota was the bitter ex-girlfriend; she wanted you gone, but hated to see you go. So if you were going to leave, she was going to make sure you hurt too on your way out. Or maybe it was a case of Minnesota sabotaging our departure, in vain hopes that we would change our minds and turn around and return.
But there was nothing for me personally to return to. I had friends and family, but there was no job to return to. There was no home for me. There was no future for me in Minnesota. And despite the presence of those who I loved, Minnesota would always carry a dark stain; memories of what was, what used to be, what could have been, and even what wasn't but always had hoped for. There wasn't anywhere I could look without some sort of reminder of that former life. Here, the resteraunt we went to on Easters. there is the park we went to that day. Over there is the zoo that the girls went to. There is the resteraunt I wanted to go to together, but never made the time for. Yes, even places that I DIDN'T go to held memories for me. Places I had always planned to visit but never got around to doing. Things that through my own nature, I placed too much value to. But because it is within my nature to do so, I cannot remove either. So rather than be tortured by these things, it was better for my mind and soul to find a place that I had no ties to in any real way.
We arose the morning of day 2 in our hotel room refreshed. The tendrils of the first day clung to us, but not with the strength they had the previous night. After helping ourselves to the continental breakfast, we got the girls into their swimsuits for a well-deserved swim. After the day they had gone through, they deserved a little down time to splash in the pool and relax. The pool seemed ot help wash away their frustration and anxiety, at least for a time,a nd refreshed their spirit.
While they splashed in the pool, with Aunt Ginger (my sister) close by to watch, I set out to make sure the next leg of our journey went smoothly. Having 2 tires on the same side of the trailer go bad, and knowing that at some point we were going to encounter mountain passes, I wanted to be sure taht I wasn't going to encounter any further problems at some point where we were next to a 300ft. sheer dropoff. Changing a tire at that point would probably push my stress level to new heights.
So I took the van and trailer to a local tire store. I explained that the driver side wheel on the trailer is still good, but that I have a brand new tire that I would like to mount. I also explained that the lug nuts are on tighter than I am capable of loosening, and asked that they use the air gun to loosen them for me. At which point I could replace the tire myself. They agreed to do so at no charge, and sent the yong garage monkey out to loosen them for me.
the familiar whine of the air gun sounded on the first lugnut, and then came the sound of a "crack".
"oops."
My mind immediately sprang to the old Bill Cosby routine?
"'Oops?' What do you mean 'oops'? I know what I mean when I say 'oops'. What do you mean when you say 'oops' there?"
The lugnut had broken, so that the top and outside portion had broken off completely. the inside and lower half of the lugnut remained ON the mounting bolt, and completely un-removeable. It turns out that the bolt the lugnuts were on were REVERSE-THREADED. Which means that when the young man had tried to loosen them as he probably has millions of times before, he went by the old standard of "lefty-loosey, righty-tighty". Which of course, reminds me; If you are ever going to ahve a daughter, never ever EVER give her the name or nickname of "Lefty". Not that "Righty" is all that much better, come to think of it.
Anyway, he tightened down the lugnut even further, when he thought he was loosening it. the strain proved to be too much for the lugnut,and part of it broke away under the stress. I can relate. The kid doing the work wasn't to blame. He had no way of knowing. We were able to remove the others without problem once we figured it out. BUt that one lugnut was stuck as it was. If I were to get a flat tire right there, we were completely sunk. The brand new tire would ahve to suffice as the spare tire, and it would only come to our rescue if the OTHER brand new tire that was mounted on the pasenger side gave way. And if that happened, I would dump the trailer down the nearest ravine in frustration.
So the kid puthte other lugnuts back on, tightened them down, and I climbed in to drive off. Only, the kid had used his own jack to lift the trailer and forgot to put it down. A little bit of scratched pavement later (about 2 feet) I stopped the van, and realived the problem. He sheepishly came back out to get his jack, and I headed back to the hotel to collect the kids.
Once there, the kids were already out and ready to go. We settled the bill, and climbed into the van, with the intent on making it to Billings, MT. However, we left at about 10:30am, which meant a very hard push to get there.
Fargo was the town I had grown up in as a kid. There were many spots I would ahve liked to haved stopped to pay final respects to. My grandparents burial site for one. Some of the different apartments I had lived in. The Mexican Village restaraunt, which was the basis of all mexican food for me from then on. (Some have been better, many have been worse. But none of them were the first as Mexican Village was.) But fargo has grown haphazardly over the years, with no real plan. It's like the first few cities you build in Sim-City. You're just fooling around, with no real idea where the industrial or commercial or residential spots are. And soon enough it becomes a huge clusterfark. That's Fargo today. And Fargo is another part of that past that is better left there, rather than trying to pull it forward as part of my future.
Well, only a little way out of town did we realize we were going to have to stop for gas and some snacks. So we stopped in Casselton, gassed up, and hit the road again. And if that sounds rather bland, dull and routine with no hint of interest whatsoever, well, welcome to the eastern and central part of North Dakota. A vast... well that is the best way to put. Just a vast blank. The nice thing about driving through North Dakota is that should you fall asleep behind the wheel (as you may be lulled to sleep by the nothingness), there is nothing for miles upon miles for you to run into. At worst, you might end up with a sunflower plant in your air conditioner fan. However, we came up with a theory. When traveling west across North Dakota, the state lulls you into very low expectations for it, and then dazzles you as you hit the western sliver of the state an hour or so beyond Bismark/Mandan. Once there, you'll find the painted mountains and the Teddy Roosevelt State Park.
But before we could get there, we had to stop into Bismark to get gas again. While filling up and getting directions for a place to eat, another highway traveler pointed out a small problem. It seems that for an undetermined amount of time, the mounting plate for the shock on the passenger side of the trailer had rusted off, and it was dragging along the ground behind us.
uh huh. Well.
Supressing the urge to give the trailer some sort of Viking Funeral by loading it onto a boat and then setting it aflame, I took what extra bungee cords I had, and rigged the shock to keep from dragging on the ground. It had gotten us this far. It was time to drag the rapidly aging trailer through gritted teeth,and hold it together with sheer will power. And bungee cords.
Besides, where in North Dakota were we going to find a lake big enough to pull that off?
That would be a rhetorical question. Rhetorical. I know what that means. Do you?
After a dinner, we got back onto the road. More flat expanses. And then, you round a bend, and you find yourself smack dab at the edge of the badlands. North Dakota had made up for itself for the absolute drabness of it's existence up to that point with a gorgeous display of beauty.
The transformation from bleak to awe-inspiring is instant. It would be like if you were to ahve a rice crispy bar, and have it magically turn into Cindy Crawford in her prime on the next to last bite.
You wanna eat me?
(That of course, would be another RHETORICAL question.)
I had been to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park before. When my maternal grandmother was dying of cancer 20-some years ago, she was determined to spend time with me, so that I wouldn't forget her. So she, my grandfather, my mother and I all travelled out to Tacoma to visit my cousins. One of the stops we made was here. And now here I was with my own children. Sharing something with them that she shared with me. Science and time and experience tells me different. I know of erosion by wind and rain and other elements such as traffic by animals and humans can change the soil drastically over the span of 20-plus years. But my heart was soothed by the thought that the great-grandchildren she no doubt would ahve adored were possibly standing in the same dust she did. They looked across the horizon and took in the same mountains that I had gazed upon while holding her hand. It was a very little thing to pass along, but I had passed on the experience that she had given to me. And even better, my grandmother's name had been Mary Anna.
Her namesake, Anna Victoria, was holding my hand.
Having soaked up the nostalgia, I tried to capture the moment in my head, my eyes doing their best to act like Kodak cameras, recording every detail I could, and then we loaded back into the van for the last push for Billings.
We only made it as far as Miles City though. One there, it was about 9pm. We stopped to get gas, and then devised a gameplan. If we were going to push to Billings, we ahd better make sure there is a room waiting for us. So we called ahead, but found that there wasn't a single hotel room available, beause of some sort of fair going on. It didn't make much sense to drive 2 hours to find no place to sleep. So we found a hotel in town, and checked in. Despite the 9pm check in, we had the kids swim for an hour or so, and then got some sleep. To make up for our lost time, we would try to get all the way to Spokane WA the following day.
But for such a long push (all the way across Montana, Idaho and into Washington), it would require alot of patience, some luck with the trailer, and even some understanding from the kids. It wasn't going to be easy...
Football preview:
The 2005 NFL season kicks off tonight, with the Oakland Raiders battling the World Champion New England Patriots. The ultimate "team" team vs. the ultimate "ME" team.
The Oakland Raiders on paper have alot more premier talent on their roster than the New england Patriots. They have Randy Moss, Kerry Collins, Lamont Jordan, Charles Woodson (a Michigan guy), Warren Sapp, Jerry Porter and others. they have a massive offensive line to pass and run block. But how well does any of it work together? Alot of the guys mentioned above have been known to but themselves and their interests ahead of the teams interests, ESPECIALLY Moss. So as great of a collection of talent as it may be, it doesn't do any good if they are unable to work together.
The Raiders offense has a respectable but not great running game in place. that works fine for them, because the passing attack is where they make their money. The offense is built perfectly for Moss, since it asks him to do what he is best at...run right down the field (avoid going over the middle, you'll notice) and catch the ball in jump ball situations. despite his faults, the best thing Kerry Collins has going for him is his arm. He can throw it deep, which is exactly what the Oakland Al-Davis' want. With even more speed on the other side in Porter, and even more behind tht in Curry, the Raiders have the offense they want. On defense, they ahve some pieces here and there, but I have to say that there is so many self-centered players, I have no trust in any of them to do all that much.
Which makes my pick alot easier. Because if I DID have any faith, i would point out that this WR grooup could do alot of damage to a Patriots secondary that is nowhere near as talented as what they have had before. Ty Law is gone (he WAS around for the beginning of the year, remember) and the replacements are a definate step down. the safeties for the Pats are still pretty good, with Eugene Wilson, but the corners are just average guys. I would expect them to try to jam the Wr's as much as possible and blitz the LB corps, especially on the outside. Err, uh...correct that. The OLB's will be doing the blitzing, but they'll come from inside, outside, up the middle, from the edge, up, down, Inside out. and Round and Round. (the Diana Ross approach, you know.)
When the Patriots take the ball, it is the same story it was before. the Patriots have an offensive line that is made up of under-appreciated blue-collar guys that aren't the best at their position, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The WR's are above average guys, but given any sunday, they could dominate the field, if you let them. Charles Woodsone will eliminate one of them, but whomever he takes out, it will leave the other open. The Raiders no longer ahve a set of corners that can remove the passing game as they supposedly had before. And the safeties...Derrick Gibson can hit but can't cover. And this Schweigert kid I remember form thedraft a year or so ago. But I don't know enough about him to have any confidence. I am sure the Raiders defense isn't as bad as I picture it in my mind, because they have some talent there. But I just can't see them keeping the Patriots under 24 points. I would expect the raiders will play conservative defense at first, maybe with a bit of an edge towards stopping the run. But for the most part, sitting back a bit, trying to figure out how the Patriots plan on attacking them.
Last year, if you remember, everyone expected the Patriots to come out pounding the ball with then-new addition Corey Dillon. Instead, they passed something like 16 straight times before they attempted the first run. The Raiders will remember this, and will take a wait and see approach on defense, I think.
Ultimately, though, I think the Patriots will win this game.
I'll be back later this weekend with my picks for the rest of the weeks games. And more about our trip out west. And more pictures, which you are probably looking for a this point.
But don't worry. We still have to talk Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders.
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