1. Every time we get back from a trip, I'm surprised how many people ask, "What was your favorite moment?" I guess it makes sense, come to think of it, because it keeps you limited to one moment from the trip, instead of going on and on, which nobody wants. But it surprises me because who can do that? have one favorite moment from a three-week trip? Maybe I should just randomly pick a good one and go with it. Like watching my internist spouse eat a hot dog so loaded with peppers, wasabi relish, teriyaki sauce, and jalapenos that you could no longer see the dog, or driving a golf cart in Scottsdale up and down paths that were so steep I about bit my tongue, or standing at the edge of Canyon de Chelly with my jaw dropped at the gorgeous colors. It was a good trip. There were a lot of great moments--many more than one-- including some lovely moments with long-term friends (the best kind of friends). You know who you are. <3
2. I thought of some other possible ways to write my trip report, though. One was as a "tips and tricks" for a three-week camper trip, which would have been kind of silly since it's the first time we've ever done a trip that was more than five days. Or maybe, "Things I will do Differently Next Time," but I could only come up with one: BRING MORE TOWELS. There you have it. Even counting the towel I lost (see next item), we still needed many more towels.
3. I also considered writing it like a daily travelogue, where each day I would report on The Thing I Left Behind. Day One: Left my favorite sunglasses in the bathroom at a rest stop. Day Two: Left my entire kit of toiletries behind at a hotel (the only night we stayed in a hotel because of 35 mph winds). Day Three: Left my towel in the bathhouse at that night's campground. Day Four: Dropped my favorite hat--but lucky for me, some nice guy picked it up and ran after me with it. Fortunately, by Day Five the rain of things I was distributing all over the Southwest had slowed and I think I made it home with the rest of my possessions. But those sunglasses--damn. They were good ones (not prescription, but bifocal cheaters which are super hard to find).
4. The amount of toiletries I "need" is absurd and excessive. I freely admit it. But every time I try to trim them down, I can't figure out what to leave behind. So on our second day when we were three hours down the road and we got a phone call that I had left my toiletries behind, it was kind of a problem. Our trip was a big loop, so at first I told them to hang on to them and we would pick them up when we drove back through. Then we stopped at a Target and I spent almost two hundred dollars replacing what could be replaced. Not kidding. It's all stuff that I would have bought eventually anyway, but still. That's a lot of stupid. Then that night I realized it wasn't just toiletries; my glasses and my retainer were also missing. So the very kind hotel employees mailed the whole (literal) kit and caboodle to Scottsdale, our next stop. I am forever grateful, but the hotel employee sounded so happy to do it that I wondered if maybe it was nice to get out of the hotel and head to the post office for a few minutes.
5. Moving on. Like so many other small towns, the board of our public library has been taken over by ultra-conservatives who probably hadn't darkened the door of the library in years, if ever. Now they are worried that LIBERALS ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD through local libraries because.... ? how? I don't know. (Aside: A friend who is friends with the librarians told me that the book they are most upset about hadn't been checked out in two years until they started complaining about it, now there are dozens of people waiting to read it.)
6. I've been a liberal/progressive/Democrat/etc since I was about 22, but you remember, I'm sure, that I was raised Evangelical, and I am mystified by this attitude. I was raised to know that what we believed in our home was not what we would be taught at the public school we attended, or endorsed by any public institution (like a library). My parents took responsibility for teaching us their beliefs, and when what we believed was different than what we were taught in school, they took it upon themselves to explain why. They did not expect that the school (or a library) would be a Christian organization supporting the Christian faith, because hello, First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."). Public schools and public organizations were supposed to be neutral toward religion so that everyone--Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Atheists, Christians, and everyone else-- would be welcome. Amazing how many people there are who want to interpret the Second Amendment (about the right to bear arms) as broadly as possible, but then pretend that the First Amendment no longer applies.
7. Truth in Advertising: in my last post, I told you about my obsession with NYT word games. First of all, I have subsequently flailed, which I suppose is to be expected if you publicly announce how much you love something. But also, not once but twice I said I do those games every single day and it wasn't until after the post went up that I thought, no I don't. I do them every single day except when I don't. But since right now I'm at a month and a half of yes, actually doing them every day, I guess it seems like it's always this way. Also, I made it sound like *pearls clutched* I would never use hints or cheat, and while that is usually true, I do sometimes use the spelling bee grid published by NYT, and less often, the Bee Roots page, which is maintained by fellow enthusiasts.
Also, I tried Connections again after reading about Michael Chabon's method, and it didn't work for me. I am still terrible at it. Well, maybe not terrible, but bad enough that it is not good for my mental health.
(In the midst of the type-A takeover of the then-Twitter Spelling Bee community, I changed my profile description to "Champion of Type-B Personalities Everywhere." I don't think anyone got it except me, but it made me laugh every time I thought about it.)
This post is exactly why I frequently say I'm going to start writing shorter posts, but then I never manage to do so. Hope you have a good weekend. I had to plan a party again, so it's unlikely that my weekend will be fun, but at least it will be over soon.
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