jumpingfish

Ben and Marie-Claire, who texted us in the morning. “We’re on our way.” They’re coming over to finish the LoTR Risk game we started yesterday. And they’re right on time. Let’s chalk that up to her. Marie-Claire wins the game in a nail-biter, with Trudy coming in second — the forces of good yet again overcoming the forces of evil on Middle Earth.

Brooks and Sandy, Billy and Molly, Chris and Anastasia and a fuzzy white dog named Buffy, who were out companions for black beans. And ham. And the best corned beef you’ve ever tasted. And biscuits with a slab of butter. And Trudy’s cornbread cooked in Nani’s square skillet — also with a slab of butter.

Zelda and Steve whom Trudy has known forever. And Alex and Zane and Parker who have grown like weeds. “At first, we thought you had friends over. Who’s are all the vehicles in your driveway? Wait. The boys are driving!?”

Brother Ben who texted me about -2F and 2F in Chicago. And 93F in Perth where they will soon be going to watch a little Ultimate Frisbee in action and which temperature causes him some anxiety because … well, because he’s from the Midwest where 93 is considered hot (!).

And Brother Ben who texted me again to tell me the tie score in the Rose Bowl double overtime, because he doesn’t stay on topic (temperature) and because he never has fully accepted that I’m a bit … slow on the uptake with college sports. Yet he never gives up. He doesn’t hold it against me. And he doesn’t know how grateful I am for his unfailing, multi-topic, sometimes-sports micro-messages, because I’m horrible at letting him know what a joy they are in my life — my editorial commentary notwithstanding.

Faye, who was bundled up in bed when we got to her home at 6:30. Who quietly looked at the New Year’s card we made for her. Who no longer speaks. And who looks out with quiet, shining eyes that are impossible to read.

Bill, who was out hunting in the dark in the cold. Who had no luck but lost the keys to his four-wheeler and asked for help pushing it back into his backyard. And who will probably not know quite how to react to the pastel/artsy New Year’s card from the two of us.

And finally, for Ben and Marie-Claire again, who were still here at the end of the day when we returned, a fact that made us somehow happy — to have them bracket our New Year’s Day.

Yesterday… all the leaves were brown. And the sky was gray. But we don’t have any snow, that’s all I got to say.

There are (at least) two weather related reasons to live in Texas that can slap you in the face from time to time. One is the wonderful, extended spring that we get, especially if you’ve got flowers to sit among^*. The other is that winter prep involves turning on a 75-watt light bulb in the pop-up green house to keep the potted plants warm.

I can take the heat. I would not be able to take what folks up north are faced with right now.

Happy New Year!

Stay safe and warm. 

^*sit among!

1.

At lunch a few days ago, I talked about how I don’t remember my dreams anymore. Sometimes I wake up with a vague echo of one in my head, so I know that I do dream. But there’s rarely anything detailed or extensive or interesting.

I mean, I used to dream extensively and often lucidly. I had recurring dreams, where I’d be in some dream-only place where I’d dreamt many times before. I would wake up with vast, complex memories of adventures in my head — which of course would quickly evaporate to vague nothingness in minutes.

But I dreamt a lot, and that never happens anymore.

Well… I just had an extensive dream.

I woke up with the vast edifice of it in my head. I won’t pretend to retell the story, which never succeeds. But I’m wide-awake with the stress of it. My heart is racing. I’m wide awake at 4:00 in the morning. So let me do think about this…

2.

I met some old work friends the airport. The unspoken gist of it was that these friends knew enough of my ways to not rely on me, and they left me behind several times, tending to their own business, wisely uncoupling themselves from me.

We had breakfast. They got theirs easily. I struggled to find a place that had something interesting to eat. When I sat down, they were calmly eating. I was frazzled. Their daughter was with them, happily finishing her breakfast.

I realized that I was checked in for the wrong flight because of some notes I took in a meeting with my boss, who was on the same flight and had checked in before me. (It is annual review time at work.)

There was confusion and non-standard chaos when I checked my bags. I accidentally checked my work computer bag and some other small, red carry-on that I don’t remember now. And they got checked on the wrong flight. So I had to go back to try to fix all that and somehow get my computer back, because otherwise it was certain to get stolen (with all the HIPAA implications that would have).

II turned around and walked back to the checkout counter. Everyone was rushing to their flights, so I got on a moving sidewalk off to the side which ended up going in the wrong direction and taking me outside. I jumped off and found myself in a garden bed full of blossoming flowers and many buzzing bees and dense, pokey pines that I had to force my way thru, leaving me covered with pokey needles and biting, squirming bugs.

When I got back inside the airport, someone was talking about how my boss, about how he had decided to get a tattoo on his hip so that he could check in just by backing up to the scanner.

Then I ran into Ben, who was calmly showing up for the same flight.

I still didn’t have my bags. And I was still checked into the wrong flight. And time was running short.

3.

It’s 4:19am. My heart has stopped racing. I’m wide awake with nothing but the stress of that thing left in my head.

Perhaps it’s just as good not to remember these things.

Je me souviens notre jour au bord de Lac Huron. Et voilà quelques souvenirs qu’on a trouvé là.

1. US 23

As the Mackinac Bridge descends onto the Lower Peninsula, is passes over Machilimackinac. To the west is the fort. To the east is the old light house.

From behind the steering wheel, I gazed longingly at the park and asked my fair and patient companions if they were up for another stop. It only having been 20 minutes since the last one, they immediately vetoed the proposal, and so we continued on to US 23.

US 23 is to the eastern side of the Lower Peninsula what US 31 is to the western — a scenic drive thru wooded forests and along sandy shores. There were cottages looking out on the water between us and the lake. We would peer down wooded driveways and sometimes see small cottages on the water.  And there were of course many big houses on the water.

Big or small, there seemed to be a tradition of each place having a unique name and a sign to proclaim it. Mile after mile, driveway after driveway, there was a seemingly infinite sequence of fascinating one-of-a-kind signs hanging out by the road.

The blue water was tantalizingly close. But sometimes the highway would turn inland.

After one such turn, we came to Cheboygan where our hunger got the better of us at the Yeck Family Drive-In, where we sat in the car eating burgers and fries, happy that we had found a real place instead of a plastic one. But we didn’t dally long, because we still had miles to go.

2. More Roadside Parks

Miles to go or not, there were still roadside parks beckoning from the side of the road. I couldn’t resist; the water looked so inviting.

At Huron Shores Roadside Park, there were picnic tables. And there were stairs leading to the water.

Gentle waves lapped against rocks and reeds, making this shore quite different from the western shores that I know so much better.

Trudy found a rock.

Ben pumped some water to drink.

3. Vacation’s End

We got back on the road, stopping one more time (was it at Oscoda Roadside Park?) as the sun was lowering in the west. 

And that was goodbye to Lake Huron.

We only had a few more miles to go before we could sleep, although as it turned out, there was a complication at the hotel and the sleeping part ended up being delayed even as the mile-counter dropped to zero. But sleep we eventually did, and we caught a Southwest flight home the next morning.