My First Real-Life Introduction to New England

For anyone who knows me, the mention of “New England” makes me immediately think about cheating and underserved championships. But on this trip, I could not be more excited about the opportunity to see the New England states for the first time in my life. And I was not disappointed.

Leaving NYC, I very quickly was introduced to Connecticut and was pleasantly surprised at just how much traveling I was able to do in what I had thought to be a relatively small state. Of course, I had to start with New Haven and a trip to Yale, which was my third Ivy League school so far on this trip (Penn and Columbia). This was a decent oceanside city and I saw my first lighthouse of the trip while I was here (Five Mile Point Lighthouse).

After a quick lunch, I headed northward and, after a quick stop in Bristol to check out the ESPN campus, it was a visit to the basketball hall of fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. So, when I say I am enshrined permanently in the basketball hall of fame, I can assure you I left behind enough skin cells to always have a home in this illustrious site.

Back on the road in Connecticut, I headed back south and visited two places with a limited amount of fame and with mixed results. The Foxwoods Resort Casino wasn’t much more than any other casino I’ve been to, but at least now I can say I’ve been there. The oceanside city of Mystic, on the other hand, was quite impressive and definitely a place I’d like to return to on a future trip. It seemed like a great place to hang out for a few days and enjoy in a less hurried manner.

With Connecticut in the rearview mirror, I was off to the smallest state in our massive country and also the only one to have “island” in its name. I didn’t spend much time in Rhode Island but did take enough time to check out the capital city (Providence, or Quahog for us Family Guy fans). Providence didn’t offer up a whole lot to look at other than a couple of statues, but then again it wasn’t expected to be one of the highlights of the trip.

Having been on the road most of the day, it was time to pull into one of the trip’s definitely highlights - Boston.

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple

On a trip like this one, it can be hard to identify what the actual destination is. With so many states on the itinerary, every place I stop feels like a destination. But when I arrived in New York City in the early evening of my second day of the trip, I was relatively certain I was about to experience some of the more memorable highlights of the trip.

Getting to NYC wasn’t too bad either, as I left Philadelphia and drove into New Jersey, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it was a much nicer-looking city than it had always been described, even if my brief time in Atlantic City wasn’t all that exciting. Once I rolled past Newark and drove into the Holland Tunnel, I knew I was on the verge of a great time.

My first night in town wasn’t all that productive as I took a few pics as I walked around and then focused on being on time to my dinner reservation to Harding’s and then off to check out the local bar scene in Chelsea. The night itself offered up little excitement but I did get to have a nice chat with a couple sitting next to me at the restaurant. That conversation broke up my people watching but only briefly. Once I was back out on the streets heading back to the hotel, I was taking in the sights and sounds (and smells) around me.

My second day in NYC was an adventurous one, starting with me taking longer than expected to learn the subway system. But once I learned how everything ran, I became enough of an expert that I was actually able to help a couple of tourists get on the right train to reach their destination. Theoretically.

I visited the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Central Park, and took in a Broadway play (Wicked) that night. It was definitely an exciting and memorable day! Alas, recognizing that I should have probably booked a couple of additional days in the Big Apple, I had to move on the morning of my third day and begin my trek to the next destination - off to my first time in Beantown.

The interesting thing about NYC is that this was my third time there and I still feel like I have so much I haven’t seen yet. Maybe next time!

The City of Brotherly Love?

Ah, Philadelphia - the City of Brotherly Love. Well, it took me a short amount of time to learn that wasn’t necessarily the case (see prior blogpost about the car rental business). If I didn’t already know from reading stories about Philly sports fans, it didn’t take long for me to find out that Pennsylvania’s most populated city (more than 1.3 million more people than Pittsburgh) has plenty of opinionated and somewhat disgruntled people. The good news, however, is that the historical nature and interesting sites of one of our nation’s most famous cities outshone the negativity that occasionally presented itself during my time in Philadelphia (basically half of my first day and the half of the second day).

On the historic side, there were plenty to see. Starting with the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, I was able to also see the Betsy Ross House and Penn’s Landing. Philadelphia was a major city in the early part of our nation’s history and these sites were evidence of the pride the city has shown in promoting that history.

An unexpected treat early on in my journey was walking up to a local drinking establishment called Paddy’s Pub. Having read and been told that there was no such bar as Paddy’s Pub in Philadelphia (the show is mostly filmed in California), I had to go inside. This was definitely not the same place - it was a fairly small dive bar - but they took full advantage of having the namesake of one of the best shows still going.

In addition to the history and the coolness factor that goes with Paddy’s Pub, Philadelphia is also well known as the home of Rocky Balboa. He is well represented outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I added my name to the long list of those who ran the steps as they were run in the movie. I actually handled it relatively well, but I have to admit it was my first exercise of the day on my second day of the trip.

I was able to check out some other cool locations such as Penn University, the famed Dickens and Little Nell statue, Citizens Bank Park, and Love Park. But I also had to make sure I checked out what Philadelphia is most known for - for foodies, anyway - the Philly cheesesteak. I went to the corner where two of the more known cheesesteak locations are separated only by intersecting streets - Geno’s and Pat’s. I chose the former and while I thought it was good, I also learned that cheesesteaks in general are a little overrated.

With Philadelphia out of the way (until my final night of the trip), I was now focused on moving on to my next destination to close out day two - a drive through New Jersey (with a brief stop in Atlantic City) before arriving to the brights lights of the Big Apple!

What You Don't See On Vacations

With every vacation I’ve taken, I tend to focus on the highlights and keep the negative details to myself. My big vacation near the end of 2021 may have seemed like a trip of a lifetime (and it was), but the start of the trip was not without complications and certainly was the most nerve-wracking of my trips since I decided to make traveling a priority.

Going into the trip, I was nervous about a couple of things. Since it was a flight following back-to-back multi-state trips that involved all driving, I had to prepare for taking just enough clothing and miscellaneous items to bring with me to the airport. Since it was American Airlines, I was allowed one 50-pound suitcase at check-in, one carry-on computer bag, and one carry-on personal bag. 

As it turns out, being nice at the counter paid off in Oklahoma City and Philadelphia as I was slightly over at both places. In OKC, I had to shift a couple of clothing items over to my personal bag. In Philadelphia, they were willing to overlook that I was a pound over the limit. But, at the end of the vacation, this turned out to be a concern that was no big deal.

What did turn out to be an issue - and a learning experience - was the car rental situation. For years, I have used Enterprise for car rentals. Mostly due to their willingness to accept debit cards. But this time, Enterprise was so much higher than everyone else that I decided to look at other options. I almost settled in on Dollar but they increased their costs before I pulled the trigger. So I ended up booking Hertz through Expedia.

With the car rental all set up and seemingly ready to go, I even double-checked via Google to make sure Hertz actually would accept my debit card. According to their website, that was an option.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, I found myself at Hertz and quickly discovered that Hertz in Philadelphia operated under its own set of rules and would not in fact be honoring our agreement to rent me a car unless I paid for it with a credit card. Exasperated and with no backup plan, I began to consider my options. Bus, train, another rental car place, or a mix of the three - everything was on the table. What I hadn’t considered turned out to be an option that was presented to me minutes later.

I decided to Uber to the hotel and get checked in and try to at least enjoy my first day in Philadelphia. I could make a decision and put together a new game plan when I settled in that night.

My Uber driver listened as I told her my predicament and immediately suggested I try something called Turo, which as it turns out is what I would call AirBNB for vehicles. I looked into it and by the time I had checked into the hotel, I had already figured out which car I was going to rent and had already signed up on the app.

This option turned out to be slightly cheaper than my original rental and saved me money on gas (I chose a 2018 Honda Accord hybrid). On the downside, on the second day the sensor showed I had a tire needing air but didn’t say which one or what the PSI was. Despite multiple attempts to locate an air pump that worked over the course of several days, I was only able to get that sensor issue remedied the day before the trip ended. But overall, it was a good experience and the owner was really nice and didn’t do anything that was outside of what was expected through the agreement.

With the negatives of the trip out of the way (mostly), the trip itself is next up. First stop, Philadelphia!

Shut Up and Go Vax Yourself!

“Latest news!”

This was the first thing I saw on a text message from my dad as I was driving as part of a side job I have delivering food on Friday night. While a text from my dad isn’t an unusual thing, his communications tend to be memes or just a response to something we are talking about in a group text. So, to receive a message with that opening is unique, to say the least.

“Sue went on that trip with Carolyn and she called today and said her family has COVID.”

I reached a point - maybe a stoplight or maybe a pickup or dropoff, I don’t recall for sure - where I was able to see more of the message. I knew a few things about Carolyn and “that trip,” which was a one-day mystery trip locally in which my stepmom was going with her friend, Carolyn, on a brief getaway that seemed to just be somewhere in the OKC metro area. The trip was just a couple of days before (maybe Tuesday or Wednesday) so I hadn’t even talked to my stepmom about where she went and what she saw.

What I knew about Carolyn, however, was that she would routinely not wear a mask and had not been someone who took COVID or vaccines seriously. And for people who know me, I consider those types of people the worst types in these modern days. They are ignorant, selfish and dangerous, and those are truly the nicest words I can use to describe their behaviors. And my emotions throughout the night went from concern to anger to sadness and then curiosity.

I read on.

“We can’t get to our doctor until Monday.”

As I mentioned before, this was a Friday evening. I later texted my dad about going to a pharmacy and getting a COVID test, and he let me know they were only testing during the week. Personally, I don’t see the logic in that at all. The time when people need testing to be available the most is on the weekend - otherwise, they could go to the doctor’s office and get checked out if they felt symptoms. I immediately felt as if even the professionals making the decisions were doing so in a way that wasn’t consistent with the needs of those who might get infected. The virus doesn’t hold off on doing its damage until Monday morning. Friday night is as good as anytime. With nothing but clinics and hospitals being open for testing on the weekends, that's not good. Especially with what we have been hearing from the hospitals about being full of unvaccinated people who learned too late that they made really bad choices in life.

“I will update you when I hear something.”

It’s hard to sit back in angst and learn about what may or may not happen next. But the alternative is to join them when it is looking like they could be hosting a deadly virus. And my presence literally would do nothing to eradicate the virus or its effects. As Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” You have no idea, Tom.

“Sue says she feels weak but not sick yet. I was having more trouble than usual breathing today.”

Of all the words I saw in this message, these were the ones that hit home the hardest. My stepmom is a wonderful person who wants to be there for everyone. She loves people and treats everyone as if they were the best person in the world. As this is her personality, she rarely says no to anyone asking for her to help with something or to join them in an activity. And her reward for being this person was to be possibly infected by a person whose selfish actions may be putting everyone around her in jeopardy.

As for my dad, he wasn’t a prime example of good health prior to the pandemic so he felt comfortable just sitting down in his recliner and waiting it out once it hit. Eighteen months later, he leaves the house only to eat sometimes, to go to doctor visits and to physically attend church a couple of times. Other than that, he has really worked hard - or maybe I should say little - to just stay put and quarantine himself against the virus.

“I pray we are OK.”

Praying is all we can do at this point. What we know factually about this virus is that everything has to be done proactively because the options on the reactive end are minimal at best. The three of us are vaccinated and have been patiently attempting to do our best to ward off any potential infections. I frequently find myself wearing a mask while being surrounded by people who aren’t (and often even around people I know to be vaccinated, based on what we have been learning over the last few weeks). At a family gathering a week ago, I was the lone person wearing a mask. The family members not wearing a mask included my stepmom. My dad didn’t go but his exposure via contact with my stepmom can’t be ignored. That is the part of virus spread we all knew well before COVID-19 ever became a part of our lives, and the events of the past 18 months have only enhanced that knowledge. COVID-19 is real, it is lethal and more than half of our nation is doing practically nothing to fight against it.

While we can pretty much do nothing for now but just hope it all works out, this is just another reminder that more than half of America (aMErica, as it is often referred to nowadays throughout the world) is still unvaccinated (48 percent is the last number I saw as vaccinated) with many of those clamoring that their perception of freedom is more important than everyone’s right to live. They are wrong. The virus is real, the vaccine isn’t a microchip or unsafe, and people are getting extremely sick and/or dying. This is no joke, people, and you need to stop screwing around or waiting on some magical moment when you finally decide to pull your head out of your ass. Get vaccinated. Wear a mask when you are around groups of people. Stay socially distanced when it is possible. And if you still don’t understand or want to argue about the realities of this virus, then move to somewhere that has other like-minded people and build a new civilization there. We are so tired of your nonsense that is absolutely killing people, and it needs to come to an end. And this time, it is absolutely personal.

The Evolution of Lies

For most people, August 17, 1998 may not seem like a significant date. But until recently it was a date of significance in modern history. It was the day then-U.S. President Bill Clinton lied under oath, and started a chain reaction that led to charges of perjury and obstruction of justice and ultimately his impeachment.

The entire process went down in history for many of us as being all about a blowjob from an adult intern, but in the end it was all about lying under oath. He was impeached by the House, and then the Senate voted 45-55 to not remove Clinton from office.

Fast forward almost 23 years and former U.S. President Donald Trump is on the verge of a second impeachment hearing in the Senate following his role in an attack against the United States. After encouraging supporters of his that the past election was rigged and that they should march on the U.S. Capitol, they followed his direction and temporarily took over the building the same day as a vote was scheduled to certify the electoral college results.

The attack occurred as the Senate and House were both in session and Vice President Mike Pence was in the Senate chamber. Meanwhile, when expectations were that Trump would step up and call on an immediate withdrawal of his followers from the Capitol building, he instead went unusually silent for the next few hours. He only encouraged the attackers to stand down after the situation was under control and President-Elect Joe Biden had publicly called the day’s events an insurrection against the nation.

The day of the attacks was the culmination of one of most odd presidencies in U.S. history, but the lies that spurred it have continued. What has been amazing is that in less than two decades, a significant number of Americans have dug in and immersed themselves in an assault on truth.

It may have started with acceptance of guys like Alex Jones, who used a myriad of lies and outlandish conspiracy theories to build a network of fools who supported his own network called Info Wars. Jones, who was found guilty of lying about the lack of validity of the school shooting in Sandy Hook. Jones has found his credibility to be on the decline since that court ruling, but his lies continue to gather steam.

Now, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is front and center of potentially losing all power in office for her own support of a series of conspiracy theories that have all been debunked. And even facing a future removal from office, she continues to stand up for accusations that only a small fraction of people actually believe.

Social media hasn’t made it any easier, having allowed some of the craziest theories to be published as if it was no big deal to accuse celebrities randomly of being sexual predators or to share Russian troll farm memes as if they were news stories.

Ever since it was suggested that factual reporting was actually “fake news” or “alternative facts,” the moral integrity of the country went down the toilet. Lies became reality for far too many people and the truth was a distant memory. By the time Trump began pounding out tweets that he could only lose the election if it were rigged, the foundation had been set for an outcome built on untruths and false allegations.

The past year was one that filled with lies, starting with Trump downplaying the CoronaVirus - first as a Democratic hoax, then as no big deal, and then as something he was constantly fixing to be better very quickly. Clearly, with 26.3 million Americans infected and almost 450,00 dead, none of those statements were true. Yet, his lies continue to have a large number of people being fine with their loved ones dying just so long as they got to continue having their perception of freedoms.

Trump is in Florida playing golf in relative obscurity, hopefully becoming only a distant memory to anyone not prosecuting crimes in the southern district of New York. But the lies will continue until we take the truth back in this country. And that needs to begin now. For the sake of humanity.

All Words Matter

Words. Remember when they used to be important? Like, when Bill Clinton got tripped up on the words “sexual relations” as in “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” when referring to Monica Lewinsky?

Or how about the time when George Bush (the first one, not the one we knew as Dumbya) said “No new taxes” and the running joke was that he was actually saying “Know new taxes” as he moved closer to losing his bid to be re-elected?

Words once mattered. When people said something like that - especially under oath - people paid attention and made them pay when they lied. As I mentioned, Bush lost his election. And Clinton’s reputation was never the same and we all saw how his wife’s reputation was ruined going forward. There are probably no words for how all that unfolded, however.

Words should be important, and certainly more important than people give them. Donald Trump once said he liked to grab married women by the pussy because he could and to show his dominance over them. And a large number of women not only voted for him but basically subconsciously told their husbands that they would leave their marriage to spend a single fleeting moment with a disgusting mid-70’s trust fund failure who would likely have been homeless if he had been born into the same life situation as the rest of us.

The thing is, that same man has become so comfortable with his version of the English language that he has actually caused a significant minority of Americans to believe all of the nonsense that comes out of his mouth and to deny other things that he said because they couldn’t justify their support of it.

Sure, today is going to be his last day in office. And, also sure, he has mastered the art of destroying our nation on numerous levels with just a few words.

You might be among those who don’t believe he encouraged people to drink disinfectant despite video evidence, or that he committed a treasonous offense while on a phone call with the Ukranian leader despite audio evidence and a transcript that laid it out very clearly.

However, there was no way he could be defended after he walked some of his loyal followers into the most significant insurrection against the United States since shots were fired on Fort Sumter in April, 1861. And we all know what happened after that.

The thing is Trump began using words that called for a second civil war weeks before the election. When the polls were showing that he was likely going to lose the election (and, yes, you are correct that those same polls had him losing in 2016), he began pushing the narrative that he could only lose if the election were rigged. Kinda like if former UT head coach Tom Herman said the only way Texas could lose to OU is if the Sooners cheated or the referees won the game for them. No, it is exactly like that. And it is bullshit.

Trump used his words and he used them loosely but also carefully to cause a domestic terrorist attack against the United States on our soil in our nation’s Capital. Yes, the man we all thought would be remembered for “covfefe, hamberders, witchhunts, Gina (it’s China), liberate and shithole countries” will now have as his last act the one where he Charlie Manson-style marched his followers into committing blatant treason against a nation that had finally and convincingly turned its back on this miserable man.

His words became so dangerous that he was banned from most social media outlets, and many of his followers were driven back into the dark web to be vocal with their racist, misogynous and conspiracy theory-driven words. And the result was one of the best weeks the nation has experienced in the past four years.

Let’s hope we can overcome this dark period of time in our nation’s history and find a way to embrace some of the better words in our English language - such as “love, middle ground, care, humanity, compromise, and nation over party.”

Word up.