Day Four: America's Dairyland

Well, I finally made it after another long day behind the wheel. Had a good night's sleep and putzed around the hotel room for a bit before grabbing some breakfast and hitting the road. Breakfast didn't start out all that well. It was a serve yourself setup and I decided to start off with a waffle. Unfortunately, the batter was a bit soupy and the waffle would not cook. I guess they figured out the batter was too thin. In the meantime I decided to settle on scrambled eggs, three strips of bacon (the first bacon I have had in I don't know how long), home fries, OJ, and coffee. I was hoping that my misfortune with the waffle was not setting the tone for the day and, fortunately, it didn't.

Hitting the road around 7:00 AM, I headed out for a long day's drive. Since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to stop at Superman's hometown: Metropolis (Illinois, that is). Knowing they had a large statue of Superman on the town square, I just had to visit the homage to my boyhood hero. Got a few pics but, unfortunately the Superman museum (a storefront) was not open, even tho' it was past the posted opening time of 9 AM.

Hitting the road once again, I had a beautiful day for traveling. It was mostly sunny most of the way, but very windy coming out of the west and traffic was not bad until late in the afternoon. What with this being Labor Day weekend, I was hoping to beat most, if not all, the traffic. Alas, such was not to be. It wasn't bad at all until about 20 miles, or so, north of Bloomington, IL. Traffic really started to build up quite a bit and, the nearer I got to Rockford, IL the worse it got. At the same time, it became quite overcast and stayed that way for the duration of the trip.

The only traffic jam I experienced was about 5 miles south of Madison. Being on I-39/90, as I neared where I-94 coming from Milwaukee joined I-39/90, traffic slowed to a crawl. Fortunately, I got off the interstate before the I-94 intersection, so I was able to get moving once again. Calling David, we decided to meet at the Madison Friends Meetinghouse since he and Johanna were to attend a women's volleyball game at the nearby UW Field House.

Meeting my future daughter-in-law was a pleasant treat. She is a real cute one, tall and slender, and is as sweet as she is good looking. David is one lucky fellow and I hope all goes well with them and that they enjoy a long and happy life together. I am very pleased to have her become a part of the family. We decided to go to dinner at Bluefie's, a nearby restaurant Pam and I enjoyed when we live in Madison. I had a great grilled portobello mushroom sandwich and a beer. Very tasty and not overly filling at all.

We parted company afterwards and I made my way to David's place in Lake Mills, about 20 miles or so east of Madison. Looking for his place in the dark proved a bit of a challenge, but I guess my old insurance adjuster instincts are still intact and I was able to find it on the first try. Now to chill, relax, and get ready for a fun weekend with David, Johanna, and my old friends.

Day Three: The Longest Day

Well, it's been the longest day of all today, not only for the length of the drive but making it through Alabama. Geez! I spent a week in Alabama today. With all due respect to my dear sister-in-law who hails from 'bama, if I never see that state again, it will be too soon.

The day started off great. Had a full seven plus hours of sleep last night and got on the road around 5:30 this morning. Driving north from Panama City on U.S. 231, I was headed to Montgomery, AL in order to hook up with the Interstate system. Reaching Troy, AL, home of the Troy University Trojans, I figured they must have gotten hosed. After all, how many colleges (besides Southern Cal) were named for a prophylactic? Looking for a Starbucks of Borders Books (aren't they in every college town?), I was out of luck and, with nothing between Troy and Montgomery, I decided to settle for McDonald's. I pulled in and found quite a number of people waiting around. Asking one fellow if he was in line or waiting for his food, he said he was waiting for his order. There were three or four people behind the counter enjoying each other's company and paying no mind to those of us who may have wished to placed an order. In fact, one of the girls made eye contact with me but kept on with her conversation. I muttered so that those near me could hear, "This is (effing) ridiculous" and walked out. Hoping to find a Wendy's or Hardee's on further up the road, I was s.o.l. Hitting I-65, I continued on the trek north and, about 20 miles north of Montgomery, I saw my favorite travel sit down restaurant, The Waffle House. I pulled in and got a seat at the counter. The lady doing the cooking greeted me. To my immediate left was a booth that a couple was seated at. They finished and left, naturally leaving the dirty dishes on the table. A family of five came in and sat on the chairs set up inside the entrance for those awaiting a booth. The waitress cleaned out the booth, the family sat down and the waitress came over, handing out the silverware and getting ready to take their order. Foiled again, I got up and left, ending at a McDonald's down the street. That was great, The manager immediately greeted me and took my order. I thanked him for serving me, telling him my tale of woe at the previous two stops I had made. I guess third time is truly charmed.

Back on the road, making it to and through Birmingham. About 40 miles north of there I found a temporary orange diamond sign saying "Slow Traffic Ahead", a real understatement. I-65 is three lanes wide at that point and, as I came up over a hill, I saw traffic slowing to a stop ahead of me. Being in the lane next to the median, I stayed there and came to a stop. It was then bumper to bumper for the hour or so. Traffic crept along, going maybe ten or twenty feet at a time (even about six inches at one point) then would stop for about five to ten minutes. This went on for about 5 miles I would estimate. Keeping my place in line in the inner lane, I felt a bit vindicated when a couple of cars ahead of me got into the middle lane and I passed them, leaving them far in the distance, as that lane remained stopped or slower than my lane. As I neared the end of the backup, I found that the three lanes of traffic were being funneled into a single lane. I was so glad to be moving again and making my way through and out of Alabama.

One thing about that state that did not impress me at all was the memorializing and apparent idol worshiping of the bigot of bigots, George Corley Wallace. I saw a sign, pointing the direction to George C. Wallace Community College and a couple more indicating Wallace University--this town and Wallace University--that town. I was reminded of a phrase used to describe Charleston, SC: "Two hundred years of history unspoiled by progress." Sorry, Regina, but that seems to fit the state of Alabama.

Made it to and thru Tennessee without spending a single dime. I bought gas in Alabama, picked up a map at the visitor's center, and made it into Kentucky without stopping. In a perverse sense, I take pride in costing Tennessee at least the price of a map. Nashville was a bit hectic to get thru. Besides road construction, the Tennessee Titans have a game tonight and traffic was starting to build for that as well as the beginning of the rush hour.

I finally called it a day at the Holiday Inn in Hopkinsville, KY just outside Fort Campbell. While I am proud to humbly display a peace symbol on the back of my car, I felt discretion was the better part of valor and stashed it in the trunk, lest it be stolen or the car vandalized. I stopped here after a long 12 hour day and am looking forward to relaxing this evening. I had dinner as an "OK" Chinese buffet across the street. Showering down, after dinner, I am simply chilling and looking forward to making it on to David's place sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Day Two of the Trek North

Well, I'm finally well on the way to Wisconsin. Leaving home at about 5:45 this morning after a good night's sleep, I took the Sunshine Skyway over Tampa Bay and kept heading north until making a left turn at the Big Bend of Florida and am now in Panama City. The trip was uneventful, as I expected--no cops; no accidents; and no dead animals (that I caused, anyway). One thing did strike me, though: I had not seen a crop duster since leaving central Wisconsin in 1980. But yesterday, on the drive from Miami and this morning about halfway between Bradenton and Panama City I saw two crop dusters. How unusual is that? None in the past thirty years and now two in two days. Life can be strange at times.

I stopped in to see Mom when I blew into town and am now chilling at my brother's house with their three dachshunds: Jazzy, Heidi, and Sally. This evening we are taking Mom out for dinner at a local beach eatery, Pineapple Willy's. After another anticipated good night's sleep, I'll be headed north once again, passing thru Montgomery and Birmingham, AL and Nashville, TN on my way to Paducah, KY where I plan to spend the night. Weather looks to be good for the entire trip to Madison and I can only hope it stays that way. 'til then...

Day One of the Trek North

Well, I started the drive to Wisconsin this morning, leaving Miami where I had taken Pam and the dogs yesterday to stay with our best friend, Linda, until I return next week. Leaving Linda's around 9:30 or so this morning, I made a leisurely drive back home to Bradenton. Rather than taking I-75, which would have been quicker, I took our preferred route--I-95 to Fort Lauderdale where I caught I-595; then west to U.S. 27, where I turned north to drive up the spine of the Florida peninsula.

At the recommendation of a good friend, Craig Fannes, I stopped at "Julio's Cafe Tropical" in Clewiston, FL for a great meal consisting of filete de pollo pimienta (sauteed chicken w/green pepper and onion), rice, black beans, fried plantains and an ice cold Corona cerveza. As Craig suggested, the price was quite reasonable--only $9.98 TOTAL! Fortunately, I got there just before the place filled up for lunch. By the time I left, there was nary a seat left in the house. What the place lacks in ambiance, it more than makes up in tasty food and reasonable prices. It is definitely making my list of places to stop for lunch on future trips to and from Miami.

Leaving Julio's behind, I continued north at a very leisurely pace. I had no place to get to, other than home, so I just set the cruise control on 60 and enjoyed a nice drive back to the house, by way of State Route 70, thru the quaint town of Arcadia, FL and on to Bradenton.

I am now catching my breath, planning on an early shower and restful evening watching the Tampa Bay Rays and getting an early start tomorrow, heading out to Panama City, FL to take Mom out for dinner and spend the night with my brother, Gene and his wife, Regina. While I'm not really looking forward to sitting still for the long drive north, I am looking forward to the solitude such affords and seeing more than just a sandy peninsula that juts off the southeastern portion of the United States.

The First Liberal

Anne Rice recently renounced Christianity calling it a quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, infamous group. She refuses to be, “anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-artificial birth control, anti-Democrat, anti-secular humanism, anti-science, and anti-life”. She is so right because, unfortunately American Christianity has been hijacked by the conservative right wingers who have no tolerance for the views of those who may not agree with them. They wrap themselves in the flag and tout the virtues of Thomas Jefferson, a professed Deist, and Abraham Lincoln, who seldom went to church and basically scoffed at religion in general.

They follow the preachings of such paragons of virtue as Pat Robertson, who called for the death of Hugo Chavez and blamed the Haiti earthquake on a vengeful God, claiming that Haitians “sold their souls to the devil” in their fight for independence; Jim Bakker, who bilked thousands out of millions; Ted Haggard, who admitted to “sexual immorality” in having a homosexual relationship (nothing wrong with that); and Jimmy Swaggert, who “sinned” in having sexual relations with a prostitute. All these evangelists (and many others, for that matter) wrap themselves in God and the flag and profess to know what is best, not only for America but also for all mankind.

What they lose sight of is that Jesus, the man whom all conservatives look up to as the guiding light of what to do and why, was in fact the first liberal. He spoke for the poor and disenfranchised, for women, and for people who had less political or religious power in the society. And so that made him a popular figure. He preached about freedom and a new social, economic, and political order. But in an occupied country, when you start talking about “Why shouldn’t slaves be equal to their masters and women be equal to men, and shouldn’t the poor have as much as the wealthy?” these are revolutionary ideas.

So then, I ask “What gives conservatives and the religious right ownership of Jesus’ teachings? Should not those of us to the left side of the spectrum be claiming that we are more in line with Jesus and his teachings?” As he cared more about people than he did about money so, too, do present day liberals. As Robbie Burns once wrote “Oh would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.”

The Way To Salvation?

Recently I received three copies of a pamphlet entitled “What Must I Do to Be Saved?”, accompanied by a handwritten note declaring, “REPENT GAYS REPENT. JESUS IS COMING VERY, VERY SOON… JESUS IS COMING. BE READY TO REPENT”.

While these came from a very conservative/evangelistic/in-your-face homophobe, whom I do not know, it appalls yet amuses me to know that not all persons are capable of making up their own minds and those of us who are not anointed or saved have to be badgered by such reactionaries. I, for one, do not have to be washed in the blood of no damn lamb.

I am and always have been an independent thinker. In fact, a couple of weeks ago Mom and I were reflecting back on my independent streak and what she and Dad had to deal with as I grew up and was exposed to the wider world in college. I praise Mom and Dad for letting me find my own way and walk my own path. As a teenager when we moved to Arlington, our family started attending the local Methodist church. Mom and Dad were not very taken with the church or its members, so they started attending another nearby one. They did not force me to go with them. They let me stay with the new friends I had made and never even suggested I attend their church.

While I have not attended a church in over 40 years, such is not to say I have rejected church as a vehicle for traveling anyone’s path; it’s just not my way. I like to say, “I don’t belong to an organized church; I’m a Quaker”. I don’t consider myself religious. I consider myself spiritual. I don’t believe in force feeding beliefs to anyone. I believe in continuing revelation and letting them discover for themselves what’s right for them.

That is what is so great about this country. We are not a theocracy, although I’m sure the most rabid evangelicals would love to have it that way. We are and should always be a democracy. I may disagree with you and you with me, but don’t try to beat me over the head with your version of the way it should be. As erroneously attributed to Voltaire, while I may not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it. My prayer is that we all can live in a civil society, treating all--be they liberal or conservative; gay or straight; Jew, Gentile, Muslim, or Buddhist—may they all be respected and allowed to proceed unfettered on their own separate paths.

Ronald Reagan vs Barack Obama

Ronald Reagan:

• Gave amnesty to undocumented aliens;
• Grew the size of the federal government and the budget;
• Added a whole new cabinet agency;
• Added tens of thousands of government workers to the federal payroll;
• Tripled the federal deficit;
• Expanded Social Security with a big fat tax increase;
• Raised corporate taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars;
• Raised taxes on gasoline;
• Signed into law the largest tax increase in history;
• Supported federal handgun controls;
• Called for a world without nuclear weapons.

Barack Obama

• Passed health reform;
• Stimulus package pumped over $100 billion into crumbling infrastructure;
• $60 billion for renewable energy sources;
• Expanded state children’s health insurance for 4 million kids;
• Signed the Lilly Leadbetter Act, insuring equal pay for women for equal work;
• Signed nuclear reduction treat with Russia to reduce each country’s nuclear weapons stock by a third;
• Created new nuclear non-proliferation agreement designed to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists;
• Signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act aka the Matthew Shepherd Act;
• FDA permitted, for the first time, to regulate tobacco;
• Dismantled the Minerals Management Service;
• Fired two wartime generals in little more than a year;
• Overhauled the student loan program;
• Cancelled weapons program that was bloated, unnecessary and totally irrelevant to the two wars we are involved in;
• Don’t ask; don’t tell;
• Closing Gittmo.