Posts from — November 2005

Well, my first major holiday since moving 2,000 miles away from where I spent my last thirty seven has come and gone. Lots of emotions, many visits, and a few observations later, I am on a plane headed back to Denver International, amidst a thrumming chorus of shrieking infants. Let’s discuss.

First off, I highly recommend traveling on Thanksgiving Day, if at all possible. I hear that the day before Thanksgiving, and the Sunday that follows, are the worst (well, busiest actually, but more people generally means more hassle, this is a fact) airline travel days on the entire calendar. It meant getting up at 5AM in Boulder to make a 3:00PM dinner date at my sister’s house in Joisey, but it was worth it. Newark was a ghost town when I got there at 1:30 on Thursday; the departure terminal had probably five inhabitants. Of course, the NJ Turnpike was its usual ribbon of SUVs — with the occasional knot — stretched from end to end, but we got to my sister’s house pretty close to on-time anyway. Saw family I hadn’t seen since I left in July (and Brenda, who I hadn’t seen in a few weeks - more on that in a sec). The interesting thing is, I might not have seen them ‘till Thanksgiving anyway. It’s that distance that makes the reunion a little more special, I guess.

With Brenda designing the costumes for a show at her old theatre, she had already been in NJ for a few weeks and had an apartment in New Brunswick from which I could stage my visiting missions. Friday I got to meet up with Tim, my old college roommate. Tim built a bar in his basement and I wanted to see it. As he poured me a cold draft from the tap, I admired the pictures of jazz legends he had on the wall, and then, with a flick of the remote control, some riffy trumpet tones filtered through the air as Tim announced “jazz-only at this bar”. Good job, Tim. We got caught up on some things, sure, but mostly discussed standup comedy routines and did movie quotes. That’s what we do.

Saturday I got to ride up to my Aunt & Uncle’s new house, which I did not get to see before I left in July. The house is great, but the inhabitants are even better. It was nice to see my grandmother, aunts, uncle John, and my cousins (as well as my sister & bro-in-law again), and we had dinner and told the same stories. I also got to hear my cousin Greg on the radio, since when we got there he was still calling the Fordham University basketball game in the Bronx. For a kid who said five words all through puberty, I was amazed at what I’d heard. He was awesome.

Sunday dawned warm and calm, with a wimpy thin overcast draped across New Brunswick - a good omen. That was the day I was to drive up to Andover, NJ to visit my pilot pal John. This was a last-minute dealio, and he had students to teach, so all I was hoping for was a handshake and a few moments of chit-chat, but instead, he was resourceful. John’s two o’clock appointment is in preparation for his private pilot checkride, which includes solo flights to other airports, so John signed him off for a short local flight to Blairstown, which happens to have a little restaurant on the field. His student would fly himself over there, and John & I would fly John’s Cherokee 140 and meet him there for food and chit-chat.

Did I mention that this student is the proud owner of my dear departed little Cessna 150? Yeah. So it was a reunion of planes as well as people, and it was a lot of fun. Despite not having flown since I left NJ, John let me fly his plane for a while, and the short flight from Andover-Aeroflex Airport to Blairstown was, well, it was wonderful. Two old friends chatting in the air, flying over familiar farmland, is something that few pilots get to experience, and that’s a shame. On the way back, Jake took off first, and we were able to close the gap on him fairly quickly. John brought us in close, and I got to watch my old plane from a very unique perspective. Seeing old niner-three-fox in its natural habitat was totally cool. Not having my camera with me was not.

All too quickly it was over, and time to come home. The thing is, my trip home began at Newark International, instead of ending there. Hmmm.

Do I miss it? Well, somewhat. Obviously, I miss my friends and family, and I miss the local flying scene. I miss the scenery of western New Jersey, and the best way to remind yourself that New Jersey is a beautiful state is to take a drive up Route 206 into Sussex County. If you can add in a flight in a small plane when you get there, so much the better.

But the list of things I don’t miss is longer.

Today, I emerged from my morning shower to find Emma perfectly centered in this direct sun patch on my bedroom floor. Luckily I had my camera on me, so I could get the shot:

The old gal sure hasn’t forgotten how to find her light, has she? She kinda has a Neil Diamond in “The Jazz Singer”-thing going on, you ask me. Or maybe late Sinatra, like right before he started forgetting the lyrics to his songs — that single spotlight, high drama thing. I think she looks great. Too bad she can’t sing.

“Ever notice how people who believe in creationism look really un-evolved?”
- Bill Hicks

Jesus (no, not that guy, it’s just an expression), what in the hell is going on over there in Kansas? Yesterday, the christian right scored a victory for stupidity, and blind faith over science, when the Kansas Board of Education (oh the irony!) voted in favor of teaching the incredibly ridiculous concept of “Intelligent Design” in schools.

“This is a sad day. We’re becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that.”
- Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat

Mmm. Sucks to be a laughingstock. And I should know, because it ain’t Kansas that the world is laughing at, it’s this entire country, because this country allowed a fuckin’ moron like GWB to happen. Twice.

Personaly, I think this site has got it goin’ on. It picks up where ID leaves off. Instead of just suggesting that there has to be a higher power behind this complex universe, it goes on to identify that entity — the flying spaghetti monster. These good folks have also clearly identified the source of global warming: the shrinking pirate population.

Hey, why not? It makes about as much sense as the so-called theory of ID, and just a little more sense than that good book that gets thumped every Sunday.

P.S.
I find it ironic that a new Bill Hicks album was released yesterday too. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about Bill Hicks on this site aside from quoting him, but he’s one of my all-time favorite comedians (thanks Tim). I should add Bill Hicks to my long list of Things I need to Blather-on About. I sure wish Bill were still around today to comment about Bush II and all his havoc.

My new project. More later.

(I know, I know, I suck. Lame posting frequency, to be sure. But fear not, I do have things to talk about. I’m building a singlespeed bike (and my knees are already groaning about it). Brenda has once again left for NJ (I submit, as evidence, the pictures on this post of a bicycle frame in our living room and wrinkled shirts hanging from the dining room chair). My cat is involved in a taste testing of organic cat treats for a natural foods magazine. I’ve recently discovered I’m losing my hair. My TV is broken (new development, as of 8PM tonight!). I’m still aware of the problem with commenting on my site. I am in love with my local recycling center. As Kevin Costner said in “Bull Durham”, I’m dealing with a lot of shit (but, thankfully, nothing that requires I cut the head off the head of a live rooster)).

In the meantime, feast on another picture of my new frameset:

Well, my posting frequency is still pretty lame, and I apologize. Let’s see, singlespeed bikes are my new focus, and I’m in parts aquisition mode. I also made a big mistake buying a mountain bike online, since I have no idea what size I really am (I never ride the damned things). As a result, I have a nice Dean titanium mountan bike I’m looking to unload.

But that’s not the point. The point of this post is to get you to go immediately to my co-worker’s website, featuring photographs he took from his many world travels. They will knock your fucking socks off.