Adventure to Willa Cather's Childhood Home

This weekend, a friend of mine and I cruised on down to Red Cloud, Nebraska, a historic town for its affiliation with Willa Cather. Sadly, we did not make it there in time to go on an official tour. Instead, we wandered the streets with a tour map we pilfered from an unmanned Opera House lobby.

The air was cold and getting colder, this being dusk and all. The city streets we are but empty of cars and drivers, and we were the only ones on foot. I wore my plaid brown and green pants that everyone seems to think are pajamas, and a zip up hoody. My friend wore his checkered slip ons and is even taller than me (and I'm 6'3"). We figured we looked like a "Big-City" couple, enjoying the sites of this "quaint town" (which is a problem nowadays: two guys--or even girls--hanging out by themselves are often looked upon as a couple.) Regardless of what the locals thought of our sexual orientation, we stuck out like lone stalks of corn that had been missed by a thresher.

It didn't take long to hit all the "major" locations: her childhood home, the house My Antonia was based on, and a handful of other houses and buildings that were used in her fiction or housed inhabitants she based her characters off. We were in and out of the town in less than an hour.

Our only interaction with the locals was my friend being given a smile--then a cold shoulder--to his question, witnessing a group of very drunk people hanging out at the community center, and being gobbled at by a fat dude riding in a minivan. What, exactly, that was supposed to mean, we couldn't guess--but decided we really didn't want to know.

Really, the best part of the entire excursion was the 6 hour conversation during the to and from drive. Big things are on the horizon for the two of us, things that might fail miserably, things that might be life-changing, things that might simply give the two of us a direction and purpose for life. Regardless, we're going to be stepping out soon and trying something big, big, big. Of course, I will keep you updated. In the meantime, let your fantastical minds run wild with the possibilities.

Fog

It's weird getting back into the real world, where things like jobs and duties matter. If it wasn't for the pile of work waiting on my desk, I'd never have thought I'd left--like I'd just stepped into some parallel universe that allowed me to fire a gun my father brought back from Vietnam, watched my family crumble into broken sobs through my own tears, and drive and drive and drive.

I realize though, that once I get back on track and set into my old routine, things will feel a bit more normal and a bit less numb.

Here's to a good weekend.

I'm Home

There are things I want to say.

They will be said at a later time. Possibly Friday.

No promises.

Trip Pt. 2: From Vegas To the Magic Kingdom

Once we arrived in Vegas, we were stuck at THAT airport for an additional two hours, as we didn't have a ride to our final destination and didn't want to spend the money for a cab. (We killed the time by eating a killer hot pastrami sandwich and filling ourselves with more Dr. Pepper and Mtn. Dew.) The rest of the day was spent trying to get some sleep, on this horrible hide-away bed, then a mad rush to finish up a chunk of my Nutcracker comics--those things were so much more work and took so much more time than I ever thought they would; you better have enjoyed them.

We didn't actually leave Vegas until 10:30 p.m., which was after midnight my time. This wouldn't have been so bad, as I could've slept on the drive--that is IF my wife and sister-in-law would've helped keep the driver, my brother-in-law, awake. Instead, that task was up to me, and we didn't roll into our hotel, which was across the street from the big MK, until 2 am-ish, California time. The trip wouldn't have been quite so long if a cop hadn't shut down the freeway and forced us to take another route (I still wonder what happened that night.).To make matters worse, we were given a room that seemed to have someone already staying in it or, at the very least, was forgotten when the turndown service came around, the sheets tousled, pillows strewn across the floor, and a brand new box of Disney's assorted chocolates sitting on the dresser.

If the stint in the Omaha airport didn't make me sick, this extra lack of sleep didn't help any, considering we were then up at 7 am to get ready for one of our two big days.

And with that suspenseful note, I'll leave you to your weekend. Have a good one, and I'll see you back on Monday.