Final Thoughts

Well, I have returned home, happy and vacated. I had a wonderful trip, and I believe that the most important part of this trip was the process. I enjoyed putting together my itinerary, meeting wonderful people along the way, slogging my way through New England traffic, and most of all seeing la Juanita bonita again.
As I was driving yesterday, I was very mindful of how many folks make the metaphor of life as a highway. You may have heard the song, "Life is a highway, and I want to ride it all night long." Also, the first term used to describe Christianity was "ho hodos" or "the Way."
In life, there are impediments that are natural, which on a highway we could represent as bad weather, an accident, potholes, or construction. In life there are also people who just don't get it, i.e. those drivers who don't know the rules of the road, don't move to the right lane when they are poking along and no one else is near them except for you, or just want to see how goshdarn fast their new car will go on the expressway. In life there are goals, just as on the road, you can choose your own destination. Sometimes the goals or destinations we choose are the ones we need to get to, othertimes, they are a detour on our route. Sometimes we make a wrong turn and head in the wrong direction. Sometimes we think we have it all figured out, and we find out we've been driving for the last half hour towards Lancaster, PA.
Anyways, it's a classic metaphor that has stood the test of time, and it seems quite appropo. However, as all metaphors go, it's important not to take them too seriously. I'm just glad that I'm back here in VA, healthy, alive, and richer for the experience.

A Room of One's Own

Coming out of NYC was as always frustrating. I made incredibly good time while I was rolling, but was hampered by three major impediments.
1) The A Train stopped at a stop is wasn't supposed to stop at for 15 minutes, no explanation given. Then, it was moved down the track into the tunnel and waited there for another 15 equally inexplicable minutes. Some of the passengers theorized that our driver may have been, "smoking up in there."
2) There was some random traffic near the Brooklyn Bridge on 278 because there was some overflowing drain which held me up for about 15-30 min.
3) It was raining cats and dogs the whole way.
Anyways, our friends Ryan and Rebecca were kind enough to meet Janna at Union station in DC when she arrived, so when I came to there house a half an hour later, we packed up and headed for our hotel, where we planned to meet R&R for dinner. Well, check-in time was 3:00, so we wandered out to a bookstore, where we made several random purchases, the most entertaining being travel Boggle, which when we got to our hotel and after appropriate cleansing and reunion activities, we played for the balance of the afternoon.
R&R came to meet us at about 7:30 for dinner, which we enjoyed at an Italian restaurant, owned and operated by Columbians. It seems to be quite common for Hispanics to stand in for the more central Mediterranean types in culinary establishments.
After dinner we proceeded through the driving rain to a party hosted by one of Ryan's co-workers. The punch contained rasberry vodka, so it kind of snuck up on me, but we headed home at about midnight via the Metro, and soon we were fast asleep.

Nueva York, el capital del mundo

I took a leisurely pace to get to NYC. I went over the Hope bridge near Bristol where I stayed. This was only the first of many impressive bridges to cross on my way down the coast of the eastern seaboard. I stopped in New Haven, CT at IKEA and bought some of the CD racks I've been wanting since last year.
However, when I finally got to Kennedy Airport, I was heavy of the bladder, and I couldn't find a space. I did however, find a quiet corner (sssh...don't tell the TSA) to take care of situation #1, and I asked some helpful gentlemen if there were any spaces left in the godforsaken parking lot. Having taken their advice, I parked remarkably close to the subway stop. However, since there is no allowance made for those who might park at an airport in order to use the local public transit, I had to pay $5 to both exit and re-enter the parking lot, (because these folks assume that I took the so-called "Sky Train" to get there).
Anyways, I took a marathon subway train ride from JFK Airport in Queens all the way to midtown Manhattan and the Museum of Natural History. The Museum itself is very thoughtfully arranged in the newer exhibits, such as the exhibit on the big bang and cosmological time, and the exhibit on the evolution of vertebrates on the top floor (In fact, there was no single hall in any floor devoted to invertebrates, although they do make up the vast majority of the biomass of the planet.) However, the older exhibits were rather haphazardly arranged, and did not really present a cohesive view of their subject, but a lighthearted dance through anthropology and zoology.
Anyways, as I was walking out I met Chris Parnell of SNL. I walked past him on the stairway. I sheepishly (like every idiot) told him I thought he was hilarious, and he was very polite. I think this beats last year's NYC sightings of Bill and Omorosa from The Apprentice. Although, unfortunately, it still means I'm an American idiot.
From this point, after a brief consultation with my wonderful host M'Lis on the cell phone, I promptly sent myself to Brooklyn via the subway. However, my triumphant return to Manhattan was celebrated with a vaguely Asian chicken sandwich in a cute dive in Soho. M'Lis and her siblings Meagan and Jon (all my neighbor Judy's cousins) and Jon's wife Nic, were very gracious and friendly. I had a great time with them, and we headed a little uptown for a movie, Millions, which although a delightful tale playing with the nature of materialism and spirituality in our modern world, could have used a small amount of editing. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested into this classic philosophical dance, however, I would warn anyone that it does not really deal with this subject in depth, but rather in breadth.
We all snuggled into M'Lis and Meagan's apartment in Brooklyn for the night, and I had a pleasant evening with Bridger, the third cat of the week.

The Ocean State

Today, I made it to little Rhody. I stopped this morning in Lexington and Concord. Being a student of language, I love hearing the New England accent. The park ranger on the trail had an exquisite example. Hearing him discuss the Nomah trade (which apparently, they're still talking about) was like music to my ears.
Anyways, New Englanders are hyper patriotic. Gosh, there is red, white, and blue everywhere. In fact, the center lines of the town I'm in are red, white, and blue stripes, no double yellow for them. Apparently, Kiwi tells me, this town has the oldest 4th of July parade in the nation (possibly the world--his joke, not mine) and is quite proud of it.
Also, on the expressways in MA and RI, there are American flags, and divisional symbols for military groups in Iraq. Also, you know how there are bums in most places who have little signs saying, "Vietnam Vet, please help." Well, I haven't seen any of these in New England, but I have seen two indigent Veteran's homes. Apparently liberals treat soldiers with more respect than some others do.
Lexington and Concord are a great example of myth. I tell my students that history are stories that are reported to be actual occurrences, whereas myths are stories that have a meaning for the hearer or reader. Following these definitions, myth and history are alive and well here in New England. I heard several recordings waxing eloquent about the "American Revolution" and "liberty." Liberty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but apparently is well represented here in monumental format.
From Boston, I proceeded to Providence, where I visited the Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, pronounced RIZ-dee). The Museum is extremely well-curated, especially its pre-modern art collections, and presented in a thoughtful artistic and historical manner. The Museum begged the question, "How would you as a viewer artistically respond to these works?" Anyways, I was terribly impressed.
Thence I went to the RI state house, which was quite majestic, and I headed over to Sue and Kiwi's, on whose computer I am typing this.
Sue and Kiwi are great. We had a few drinks and then headed out to a bah, wheh we had mah drinks and some good pub food. I had some great chowdah, but the poht pie was not prepared correctly, so the waitress offered me anotheh choice. I had an Irish burgeh instead. Anyways, Sue and Kiwi are great, and I'm about ready to crash for tonight.
It's the Big Apple tomorrow!

The Cradle of Liberty

So last night in Schenectady was great. I spent time with Ryan, his sister Caroline, and his wife Susan, all friends of Ann. They were delightful people and took me down to downtown Schenectady and a tasty Indian restaurant. We shared the bottle of Chardonnay-Viognier I brought from the Jefferson Vineyards. I very much enjoyed them, and I hope I get to see them again in October.
Today, I am with Bill and Donna, Alaina's parents in Windham, NH, outside of Boston. Bill was kind enough to explore the area today. We drove down through MIT and Harvard together. I was struck by how much Cambridge is a part of the urban center of Boston. I always thought of those campuses as being spacious and broad, but they are actually quite compacted in the middle of the city.
Then we started on the Freedom Trail though downtown Boston. I am always amazed how people can create a definition of "American," which completely ignores others who have a slightly different of what patriotism or freedom means. The freedom trail was a delightful reminder that Northeastern liberals can be just as patriotic and freedom loving as much as any Southern Baptist.
Highlights of the Trail...
The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. Seen Glory?
I actually saw Senator Ted Kennedy walking to his car surrounded by assistants near the State House (someone pointed him out to us).
The tomb of Crispus Attucks and the site of the Boston Massacre, visited by Queen Elizabeth the deuce in 1976.
Faneuil Hall, where our tour guide was quite possibly one of the most capable National Park employees I have ever met. What a tour, it made me proud to be an American again.
After that we went up to the Bunker Hill monument on Breed's Hill, but it had just closed so we didn't get to go to the top, but we did go to a tavern that had been continuously operating since 1780, where, it is claimed on the menu, both Paul Revere and George Washington did imbibe.
Now I am back in New Hampshire, and I have to try and recreate my Gettysburg post, because it was lost to the either of the internet.

On to Schenectady

I hope I spelled that right. Well, I spent most of the day driving. It is quite a ways from Gettysburg, PA to Cooperstown, NY. However, the drive was an absolute magnificent one, through rolling countryside, broken by historic farmhouses and buildings. Like Gettysburg, Cooperstown is quite the tourist trap, full of shops hawking baseball themed items. The Hall of Fame wasn't quite as impressive as I hoped, but, I did rub Ernie Bank's nose, and I enjoyed the walk through the last 150 years of history (or last 4000, if you include the picture of the Egyptian pharaoh playing some sort of game with a ball).
My theory is this, capitilism ruined baseball the same way it ruined America. If you look at the oldest plaques for the inductees, they only played for one team, and they played their hearts out. Now, inductees have three, four, five, sometimes even six team names below theirs. Of course baseball is a peculiar institution, because it is one of the few government sanctioned monopolies in the United States. However, as the Museum pointed out, it has adopted a basic capilist model of owners, labor, and consumers. Well, it used to be the game was played for enjoyment of the players and their community, now it is played to raise money for multi-millionaires. I mean, I used to love Sammy Sosa, I love the Cubs. Now Sammy is playing for the Orioles. I just don't know whom to root for anymore. Anyways, since the idea of public community space is dying in 21st century America, it is no suprise that so is Baseball, but it is sad to watch it go.
Right now I am at a public library (Guildford? Public Library) somewhere outside of Albany. The apparently let anyone use the computers. God bless, and there is more forthcoming.

Gettysburg, PA

This is a recreation of the post I wrote yesterday, but seems to have been lost forever in the ether of the internet.
Today I visited Gettysburg, and it was a dreary rainy day, which seems fitting for visiting a place that is the bloodiest patch of soil in North America. The somber mood was appropriate, but that meant that I was very soggy by the end of my "3-hour" car tour.
Some observations--
Gettysburg is a perfect example of why the South lost the Civil War. Although Robert E. Lee is clearly a tactical (battlefield) genius, he did not have the strategic vision that George Washington had. In this regard Lee was North America's Hannibal or Napoleon. Washington himself never won a battle (unless you count the raid on Princeton) until Yorktown. However, he understood the political nature of the conflict, he had to outlast the British.
Lee saw the Civil War in very simplistic terms, he saw it as a military conflict, to be won or lost on the battlefield. However, this meant that a loss on the battlefield, unlike the Romans at Cannae (who lost more men in one day at that battle than Lee ever did), was devastating to Southern fortunes. In fact, I have read a book pointing out that the real drain on southern manpower was not the devastating hammering they were taking at the hands of U.S. Grant, but the tens of thousands of letters from desperate housewives, begging their husbands to return home, a la Cold Mountain.
These men wouldn't have skeddadled on home if they believed victory was just around the corner, however, this is the real key to the battle of Gettysburg, as you see the various exhibits and monuments, one get's a real sense that it was the Colonels and Lieutenants, the Middle Management if you will, of the Union Army that won the battle. In fact, there were numerous cases of imminent disaster for the North staved off by the brave action of this junior officer or that Regimental Commander. It was the brave Union defense and fortification of Cemetary Ridge, Big and Little Round Top, Culp's Hill, etc... that really gave the victory to the Union. Not that Meade was a bad commander, although, somewhat unimaginative, but that the Union was able to survive some serious bungling on the top of its high Command (General Sickles), and still win the battle.
However, when Lee made mistakes (the so-called "so-called Pickett's Charge"), the Southern cause was doomed, however, when Sickles stepped out into the Wheat Field it was a tragic mistake that did not really effect the outcome of the battle. This is really due to the two different theories of society, the North embracing the ideals of Democratic capitilism, and the South the idea of a landed aristocracy.
Other observations--
The Eternal Peace Memorial set up in the farther Northwest corner of the battlefield is surrounded by cannons which are pointing out, ready to defend the Peace Memorial against all comers. Contrast this with the Peace Memorial I saw in a TV show about El Salvador, where tanks and AK-47s had been covered by cement so that they could never be used again.
Okay, so where is it that you can see the flag of an armed rebellion against an elected, legitimate, and current government of a country displayed on a t-shirt with the slogan "Never Tear Me Down." All this for sale in the section of souvenir store entitled, in large letters for all to see, "All Things Patriotic." Keep in mind that this flag stands for racial apartheid and slavery.
The Gettysburg Museum is a treasure trove of Civil War artifacts, particularly weaponry, and I remember as a child, visiting and being overawed by the exhibits. As an adult, I was duly impressed, but equally aware of the somewhat decrepit state of the building. In fact, Eisenhower himself probably visited the Museum in its current state.
This brings me to my last point. The Eisenhower home near Gettysburg is a wonderful Cold War Era site, where you can see a modern home used by a president. On display are gifts from all sorts of countries, including vodka from Nikita Kruschev. The tour guide, who was good if not eccentric, made great mention of the Suez Crisis. Isn't it amazing to think about a Republican president who asked England and France not to get involved in a war in the Middle East?