Theme Songs
I have noted before that, these days, everything needs sponsorship. What I neglected to mention, however, is that everything needs a theme song too. Despite that omission, I have been ruminating on the matter for the past few days.
Salt of the Earth
As Linda had told me it would, the drive up from St. Petersburg took around 24 hours in all. Most of the trip was actually quite pleasant. No doubt this was partly because I took her advice about the route. But I was also impressed by the road construction idiom that most of the highways had adopted.
Ensconced
One of the many joys of traveling is, of course, the opportunity to sample new food. But sometimes what seems new turns out to be familiar, just masquerading under another name. And sometimes I expect to see something familiar, only to be utterly flummoxed by what looks up at me from my plate.
Junctions
I have noted before that towns in America seem remarkably bashful about telling you that you have just entered them. Shazza has since pointed out that rivers don’t seem anything like so shy. As she says, there’s no missing the Big Pee Dee River and the Little Pee Dee River.
Up and Running
While I’m away, I’m not checking my emails as much as usual. Today, however, I noted a missive that must be exciting everyone back on campus. It announced, as though this were good news:
The part for the elevator came in today and Otis will be out to install.
Where Am I?
The distance between St. Petersburg, Florida and anywhere in New England is — to put the matter in technical terms — a very long way. So there is ample opportunity to get lost. And, while I have already established that Strudel makes a great traveling companion, she does have one major deficiency. She’s no good at giving directions.
A Man’s Best Friend
Brits of a certain age were taught that a man's best friend is his duck. We’ve already established, however, that my ducks had gone missing in my hour of need, leaving me duckless and defenseless to Cathy’s insistence. So I didn’t feel minded to have them accompany me on my trip to New England.
Rambling
It’s all Shazza’s fault.
I was explaining to her my plan to spend several months of my fall sabbatical traveling in New England. “You should blog about it,” she said. I rejected the idea out of hand. “But you’re always writing,” she insisted.
The Case of the Gutless Senators
Throughout much of today, large numbers of Americans have been watching the televised coverage of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate conduct hearings featuring Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.
Royalty, Respect, and the NFL
Royalty and the NFL: two topics that you would not, perhaps, expect to find mentioned in the same sentence, let alone a blog post. And yet here they are.
They have, of course, both been in the news over the past few days.