October 9, 2023 ~ Monday morning (Summer’s last hurrah this week – 80s before 50s!)
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that there are a lot (as in a LOT) of bad things happening around the world and in this country these days. I looked through my news site last night and every news bit was awful … the Hamas/Israel/Gaza Strip siege/bombings – innocent lives going about their nightly rituals – snuffed out in rocket blasts that leveled so many buildings. Kidnappings/killings/the slaughtering of innocent people … the war between Russia and Ukraine – more innocent lives lost … FOR WHAT? What is going on?? This week ongoing political strife is rampant in our own country … continued court cases, the minority taking the majority hostage, the blind following of a disgusting human … it’s ridiculous (maddening, frustrating, and scary). And I, for one, can’t handle it. All this suffering is in the air I am breathing and it is absorbed by my soul. I am in the midst but soooo far removed. I know nothing of discomfort (first-hand) yet it is overwhelming at times to know that so many are suffering so greatly and here I am … just back from vacation and eating lobster/being carefree … witnessing their misery in the comfort of my cozy home. Life certainly isn’t fair. One of those things that I’ll never understand about life – the unfairness. And humanity – how can people be so evil … on so many levels?
So, here I am on this beautiful October, Monday morning, snug and cozy in my home. It’s to be Summer’s last hurrah this week with temps in the 80s for the next 3 days before Fall finally comes blasting in with a high of 50 and frost! CO does like dramatic changes!
In an effort to get my mind off “things” (as in world/country affairs) – I am going through my stack of mail left from while I was gone last week to the Northeast. I thought I’d go see some friends and leaf peep – but Mom Nature showed me no colors … well, maybe 5 trees from Boston up to and through ME, NH, VT, NY, NJ, PA, DE. It was nice to get away from everything while gone – but I could have done without the allergy-induced bronchitis that came home with me.
In any case – I’m sure that the news is a bombardment to you/your senses as well … so, here’s a little escape … something I wrote while at the airport … the first leg of my trip. Peace to you and yours.
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It is 4:15 am (“my” time) but I took the red-eye to the East Coast and where I am, wherever I am, it is two hours later, 6:15. The people in this airport (Newark?) are WAY too peppy and cheerful for this time of day!
I am sitting, bleary-eyed and feeling gross and way too tired, at the gate for my connecting flight to Boston. I keep telling myself – by noon I’ll be eating lobster!
But what I’m stuffing into my mouth at this hour isn’t all bad – either! New Jersians apparently know how to eat – and drink – as I passed airport bakeries that would make anyone with a Danish or croissant fetish swoon (there are no/few bakeries in Denver – why have a bakery when you can have a Starbucks or a yogurt shop?). I chose the cheese Danish (over the almond croissant) and am NOT disappointed. Yum! I passed several other early morning eateries (this place puts Denver’s airport to shame! Well, most airports put Denver’s to shame!) – lox and bagels were the most common items listed on the menu boards. Astounding! The choices were plentiful and amazing (and not badly priced). And other than bakeries – there were bars. As in OPEN bars at 6:15 am local time! And they were gorgeous! I passed a wall of liquor bottles that gleamed and glistened (how is that possible in airport lighting?) which made me think of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Dark and moody spaces, crystal glasses, amber liquids, good backlighting … they were beautiful spots! In any case, here I am – the sky is lightening out the window in front of my table – looks to be a nice day. How could it not be with cheese Danish at 4-6 am? Maybe I should go get a brandy!
I sit here wondering … whose brilliant idea was it to take a red-eye flight? Apparently – mine! It was either drive at 7 pm or 3 am … I opted for the red-eye thinking I could sleep on the flight. No such luck! I don’t like driving highways or driving in the dark – so, I left the house around 7 pm – for my flight at midnight – hoping to have some light on the way to the airport. It was dark by the time I hit the highway ramp. So much for good planning! And, egad, people in Denver drive like bats out of Hell – no matter what time of day or night! Slow down, people!
Our flight was full and I found myself seated next to two guys who were either seasoned travelers or escapees from some asylum. The guy next to me was wearing a bathrobe (as a coat) and proceeded to insert earplugs and don a sleep mask before I was even buckled in. The other guy was wearing a onesie that I can only describe as that belonging to a Teletubbie. Yeah – on airplanes or life in general – I’m a magnet for weirdos.
Try as I might over the next nearly four hours, the only thing that fell asleep was my arm. I keep telling myself that the 16-minute semi-conscious rest I got will surely carry me through my day of driving and sightseeing!
The flight wasn’t bad – compared to others in the past – other than the initial 15 minutes of taxiing. I began to wonder if we were going to drive all the way out here! I think we finally lifted off at the Kansas border. However, the night sky was beautiful and clear and the stars were plentiful (and so twinkly). The lights of the towns we flew over sparkled below us. I felt like Santa in his sleigh (sans the reindeer).
For those of you who don’t know me – I have dachshund/pug legs … yeah, yeah … short and squatty. No long, lean Golden Retriever legs on this body! How, with my short little stumps, could I not get comfortable? How does anyone who has an inch longer than a 29″ inseam fit on an airplane without their legs needing to fold up like origami? Comfort was not mine. I am also a realist … a logical thinker … and the mere happenstance of flying just does not make sense to this brain. I can be told til I’m blue in the face about how technically it is possible, blah blah blah … but my mind still screams out – we should not be up in the air! Needless to say, flying is not my favorite thing.
So, while up in the air, while trying to get comfortable and take my mind off of why we weren’t plummeting to earth instead of floating along (so to speak) … my mind wandered over to penises. (No, it’s not what you think!) And, yes, weird where the mind takes you! The house I live in now was the house my daughter lived in – which started out 20 years ago as Tim’s office space. While she lived in the house, Sam kept bully sticks on a shelf in the laundry room above the washer and dryer. (And, in case you don’t know what a bully stick is – someone in the butchering realm got really smart one day and instead of throwing away the bull penises, they dried them and began selling them as dog treats. VERY pricey and apparently, very tasty dog treats!) Delicacies come in many forms.
Anyway, while living in the house, Sam’s dog – Rhodie, would get her bully treats on a regular basis, waiting patiently in the laundry room for her mom to give them to her. Fast forward to me moving into the house and still, after 15 months, whenever Rhodie visits, I can find her in the laundry room – staring at the (empty) shelf – pining for penises.
Why was I thinking of that? I have NO idea. But those thoughts absorbed a good 14 seconds of my white-knuckled/sleep-deprived first flight to the East Coast.
And, here I am, my mind in vacation mode and being one leg closer to lobsters and the open roads of the Northeast. I hope it’s a good trip.
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Coda: I drove 1700+ miles, saw five trees that had colored leaves/luxuriated in some beautiful country/had a good time with friends and family/drove on breathtaking, windy, back country roads as the only auto for miles/and ended up getting sick for two days from the lobster!