Going to California - Day 1 - Minneapolis to Emporia

Departure Minneapolis - 32 degrees and overcast.
Arrival Emporia - 42 degrees and dark.

Miles traveled - 546
States traveled through - 4
Major cities - Minneapolis, MN; Des Moines, IA; Kansas City, KS/MO
Avg. speed - 61 MPH

A sample of gas prices

Minneapolis, MN - $1.97
Des Moines, IA - $1.92
Converse, MO - $1.73
Kansas City, KS - $ $1.76
Emporia, KS - $1.85



When I was young, my dad and I were much closer than we are now. I was the oldest of my siblings and as such I could go do things that the other kids couldn't. It's just one of the many perks of being first. Mostly it was just a bunch of sporting events that we got to see together including a lot of Twins games from very close. But the crown jewel of father-son time for my dad and I were our roadtrips.

The very first one was just a jaunt down to Lake City when I was about six to see my great-grandmother O'Hara. She was very old and I was very young. It stands out though because it's the only real memory I have of her. She seemed so frail and small. My dad has told me since then his memory of that trip is how she was so happy to spend time with her grandson and her great-grandson.

Most often though we'd base our roadtrips around sports. One year we drove to all of the NFL training camps in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another we drove to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. We even flew one time to Kansas City so we could take a car across Missouri to a Cardinals game in St. Louis.

However the very first roadtrip we took out-of-state was to Kansas City for one of my dad's co-worker's wedding. It was 1990 and I was ten while Erica was 8 and Dan only 6. If my dad was going to take Mom to the wedding, they'd have to find someone to take care of us for the whole weekend. So, sensing an opportunity in a problem, Dad just took me instead of Mom.

There are three really great memories of that roadtrip. First, we stayed at a hotel with two trees involved which had a pool where you could swim between the indoors and outdoors. Second, it was the first time I saw two of the greatest television shows ever; "Saturday Night Live" and "American Gladiators." I can very vividly remember watching The Eliminator on "AG" and watching a "Twin Peaks" parody sketch on "SNL." (Which means Kyle McLachlen was hosting with musical guest... Sinead O'Connor.) The third memory requires a little set-up. At the time Dad had a BMW 3 series with 5-speed manual transmission and an overdrive. Basically, the car was meant to go really fast and it could.

We were peaking over a hill in Iowa already doing north of 80 when Dad noticed there were no other cars visible, there were no police officers sitting in the ditch and, hell, there was this long straight downhill stretch of open road in front of us. So he turns to me and says, "Your mom doesn't need to know about this." He dropped the car into the overdrive and it took off. By the time we got to the bottom of the hill we were doing 120.

I thought about that road trip as I was driving through Kansas City today. I got a chance to think back to when Dad and I would take roadtrips together. I got a chance to think back to when Dad and I were closer. I thought about how things have changed and how things have not. Mostly I got to think about when we would just get in the car and drive.

A List of Items

One winter jacket, red
One sweatshirt, grey (printed)

One gymbag/suitcase, black

-contains-

One swimsuit, black
Two pair shorts, one red/white and other tan khaki
Four t-shirts, two blue (printed) and two white (one printed, one not)
Four pair underwear, patterned
Four pair socks, two pair navy calf cut and two pair white ankle cut
One pair sunglasses, black
One toothpaste tube, half full
One toothbrush, could be replaced
One can bodyspray, full
One stick anti-perspirant, half consumed
One can shaving cream, half consumed
Two safety razors, unused
One phone charger
One package to mail to a friend
Two books to return to a different friend

One green backpack w/ "What Would Elvis Do?" patch

-contains-

One winter hat, navy w/ forest green
One pair winter gloves, navy
One scarf, tan/grey
"Downtown Owl" by Chuck Klosterman
Batman collection "War Drums"
Free Darko's "The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac"
Four DVDs

-"Lost In Translation"
-"Serenity"
-"Live Free or Die Hard: Unrated"
-"Gigantic: A Story of Two Johns" to return to a third friend

Six music CDs

-Catch 22 "Keasby Nights"
-LCD Soundsystem "45:33"
-Aesop Rock "None Shall Pass"
-Bad Religion "New Maps of Hell"
-Of Montreal "Skeletal Lamping", packaging difficult to open
-Atmosphere "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold"

One Audiobook

-"The Day the Universe Changed" by James Burke

One digital camera, borrowed
One mp3 player w/ headphones
One cellphone, company-provided
One notebook with directions
One composition book, "Story Arcs" written on cover
One laptop (pending deposit in bag)

Today Was A Good Day

Four years ago, the day after the election, I wrote the following blog post on my old blog Captain Handsome.

Election Results
Today I feel both disappointed and relieved.

I feel disappointed because John Kerry and John Edwards didn't win. It's a little like cheering for your favorite sports team if your favorite sports team directed the economy, the military and the governance of law.

A lot of people like cheering for the Yankees because the Yankees win. If you had to choose your favorite team based on how they played, how they treated their fans, etc., the distribution would be more even. Or people just wouldn't care which is what happens more often in politics.

When John Kerry and John Edwards didn't win, it doesn't mean I won't vote for Democrats two years from now. I'll still be back cheering for the same team because the same things will be important to me then and it will be the same team which will be able to deliver them to me.

As I've expressed elsewhere, this one in particular would've been nice to win.

I'm relieved because it came down to votes. There was no last minute surprise "Hey, we have Osama bin Laden," or "Holy shit, President Bush raped a bear. And that bear was my father!" shit. I think that's the stuff which really turns people off to politics and makes them think their vote doesn't count. This election really was about courting the voters, talking about issues and who is the better man for the job.

There are still votes to be counted and the television networks don't choose the president. It would be great if Bush were ushered out the same way he was ushered in. However, I'm waking up to an America in which George W Bush is the President and I can finally react to that.

The nation selected George W Bush. They elected a foreign policy where the United States actively uses its military might, a domestic policy which supports businesses who are then responsible for supporting their employees and a moral policy which is very conservative. They also selected leaving things as they are over how things could be.

And I'm not sure I fit with that. I don't fit with the Bush Administration's interpretations for sure. Yet a lot of voters looked past the pragmatic and went on the basis of values. While I can relate to those values, they aren't mine.

Atleast I know where I stand. And I can start setting my course from there.

Whether that is me following through on my festering urge to move out of the US or just into a deeper blue state or the exact opposite by going into a red state and helping to bridge the gap, I don't know.

Today is a brand new day. Today my relief is to be starting.

Now it's four years later and I can tell you what happened.

After getting over the initial shock, I decided to commit myself to work and spent the next term floating astray and trying to fit into the corporate world I found odd. For three of those years, I had the support of a wonderful and caring woman and she did more than her part to help me see the cheer in my life and why I should continue on. But the stress of our relationship pushed us apart and this summer things fell apart. I moved home from Chicago and looked around at my options.

There are two realizations I've come to in the last two months. I've found I'm back where I was four years ago and my old burning is coming back. I never really forgot that feeling and anyone who was there will tell you volunteering was the part of my Chicago job I enjoyed the most. It's no coincidence that I'd supported a community organizer for President. Then last night that community organizer won.

Yesterday the nation selected Barack Obama. They elected a foreign policy where the United States uses its military might judiciously, a domestic policy which asks people to make sacrifices for the greater good and a moral policy which is open and liberal. They left behind things as they are and want to see how things could be. And I fit with that. I can relate to those values because they are mine too.

So, with the economy in the tank and the corporate world a suit that fit poorly to begin, I'm going to look into making service my full-time occupation. I don't know if that's going to be foreign service, the Peace Corps, Americorps, some form of government job, some form of non-profit or non-governmental organization, etc. All of that is to be determined. The point is I woke up this morning in an America that needs help and I plan to do my part in helping.



In 2008, Yes We Can!