Road Trip Log: Days 7 and 8

Total miles traveled: I have no idea

We stayed in the Danvers/Salem area all day Monday and Tuesday. Our first stop was Salem State College, where we took a guided tour of the campus. There were a dozen or so other students plus their parents. There were plenty of other people my age on the tour, but none of them was a prospective student. I was the only one interested in graduate school, also. The rest were high school students looking for a likely college, or first year college students looking to transfer. A perky little sophomore led us around and told us about college life. Yeah, it didn't apply to me. There was very little useful information for us on that tour, though we did discover where most of the classroom buildings are. For the information I need, I will email the program director of the graduate counseling psychology program and snoop around on the website. Eh. Did I need to come all the way to Salem, Massachusetts for this?

Yes, I did. Because the primary reason we are here is to get a feel for the area, the college being just a part of the greater whole. After our college tour we wandered into downtown Salem, Essex Street to be precise. It's at the heart of the tourist area. C was interested in the pagan shops, of which there are many. Salem is (in)famous for the witch trials of the late 17th century. I learned a bit of that history. It's pretty scary, not because of the alleged witches, but because of the people (mostly young girls) who were accusing people of being witches. The witch scare only lasted about nine months before the general wave of opinion moved on to some other superstitions or scandals or whatever. Nineteen people were killed for being witches before the ordeal was over. Many more were imprisoned, but they were released after the panic ended.

The thing about Salem, though, is that it's a coastal town, a harbor port, with rich nautical history that spans centuries. But what comes to mind for most people when they hear of Salem, Massachusetts? Witches. I learned that Salem was important in the whaling industry back in those days. There was also lots of overseas trade, the East India Company being active in the area. It's the witch thing that brings in the tourists and their dollars. Whatever.

The town is adorable. I'm especially interested in the architecture, no surprise there. The houses are cute, quaint, lovely, and many other pleasant adjectives. There are shops and stuff all over downtown. It's a town that's easy to walk in. One part of Essex Street is closed off to automobiles and is a pedestrian mall. There are historic places of interest all over the area. We saw the Peabody Essex Museum, but didn't go in. It was closed Monday, and we didn't take the time for it on Tuesday. Maybe another time.

The roads around here are very confusing. There isn't a unified grid of streets anywhere in this area, and one long stretch of road might have six or more different names along its length. Mass. Hwy 114 runs from Danvers through Salem, but takes a bunch of turns getting from one burg to the other. It's one of the big retail areas in Danvers. Wal-Mart is on Hwy 114. Through Danvers it's called Andover Street. The voice of the GPS thing C downloaded onto my BlackBerry sounds like she's saying "Bendover Street." So of course I'm calling it Bendover Street :) The city/state/whomever is working on Bendover Street through Danvers, and currently has the top couple of layers of asphalt chewed off. This leaves the manhole risers (get your mind out of the gutter!) raised above the level of the road, causing driving to be treacherous. C says it reminds him of a video game, having to avoid the obstacles while moving down the road. Since he said that, I've been using the road that way. Makes it fun to drive on Bendover Street and play the real life version of a video game! This is the greater Boston area, so of course people around here are used to other cars weaving in and out of lanes of traffic. I tell ya', I'm having a blast driving around here!

On the other hand, I'm getting frustratingly befuddled. It's one thing to go on a little adventure in search of my destination. It's another thing to have no fucking idea where I am or where I have been or where my destination is from there. Trying to find a restaurant the other night I got SO annoyed. Poor C has been annoyed for days. So on Sunday (I think it was) he downloaded the Verizon Navigator program. She has been most helpful, both for me and for C. He's much less stressed than he was. I have named the voice of direction (C would say "the voice of reason") Cartesia, in honor of the Cartesian Coordinate system developed by Rene Descartes. Superman things this is appropriate. Cartesia and I are trying to build a good working relationship. I'm a stubborn old bird, so admitting that I need navigational assistance is a hard step for me.

Speaking of steps, we have been walking a lot! Starting on Sunday in Boston with RG, and continuing for the past two days, I've been on my feet an awful lot. I'm a bit sore at the end of the day, but I haven't been achy any more than usual when I get up in the morning. This afternoon C and I went to the indoor pool here at the hotel (swanky, huh?) and I floated for an hour or so. He swam. I was relaxed.

I'm down to three bandanas and a handkerchief for clean clothes. Had to dig in the dirty clothes pile to find a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear to supper tonight. The hotel has a small laundry area with coin operated machines. Quaint, huh? At least it's in the hotel, not at some questionable location down some dark alley. Our clothes are in the dryer, probably ready to be removed. I'm off to do that momentarily.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we leave Massachusetts. We'll drive up through New Hampshire and Vermont, just to see the pretty, then head down through New York into Pennsylvania again. We'll stay overnight in southern Pennsylvania (NOT in Schenectady!) I plan to push on all the way home to South Carolina on Thursday. That's two days of very heavy driving ahead of us, and I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do until after I get home and rest up a bit. So TTFN, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. Or something like it.

Road Trip Log: Days 5 and 6

Total miles from Day 5: 1599

Total miles from Day 6: 1673 (if memory serves)

So much to say! Saturday (Day 5) we spent out on Cape Cod with Greg. I had a fantastic time! As Greg has mentioned, it was like meeting an old friend for the first time. We drove around the Cape's elbow a little bit, saw both shores. It's so beautiful out there! The weather was warm and sunny, but the breezes were very comfortable. It's hot, but not as hot as South Carolina, thankfully.

We went out to eat at a lovely little place (can't remember the name) that served delicious food. I had The Best French toast I've ever eaten, made with croissants. Who'd a' thunk?

Much of our time with Greg we spent in The Nest, talking and laughing and realizing how a friendship built through online interactions can be pretty damn close. The possibilities are amazing. Both Greg and his home (and his beautiful kitty) are most welcoming. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

C and I had reservations for Saturday night at another Motel Sixth-Circle-of-Hell. Foolish, I know. It felt kind of creepy. When I talked to Superman last night I told him that I really didn't feel comfortable there. When we were in Taunton on Friday night we stayed in a much nicer place, the Inn of Holidays. Superman and I discussed perhaps finding a nicer place here near Salem. This morning C and I scoped out the Inn of Comfort just up the road, and lo and behold, it's quite nice! Not quite as swanky as the place in Taunton, but very comfortable. And there's art on the walls! So we made reservations for the next couple of nights, then went back to the dregs and checked out. Yay! We're are much more comfortable now, in a few different respects.

Here's the rest of the Day 6 report.

After checking out of the Sixth-Circle-of-Hell, we drove around for a while looking for a likely breakfast spot. We never found one. I ended up wandering into Boston. We had plans to meet up with RG at noon (he has already posted his account of our day). I had gotten directions from here to there from the Google Maps magician and emailed them to C, but he didn't have his computer out yet as we wandered into the big city. After bumbling around in Boston traffic with crazy drivers and one-way streets, we finally found our way to the parking garage beside the designated meeting place. We were an hour early and had had no breakfast and NO COFFEE!! I'm not called "Java" for nuthin', you know. We wandered around Quincy Market looking for food and stumbled on Dick's Last Resort. I chose it because of the "last resort" nomenclature. Little did I know that they are famous for acting like dicks. Whatever. I broke my fast with a sweet blue rum drink (can't remember the name, but it's suggestive). C had a piña colada, and then another one. The poor man was totally stressed out from my "adventurous" driving. Directions? We don't need no stinkin' directions! Yeah, I've been putting the dear man through his own special hell, though with no intentions of doing so. As similar as he and I are, we differ a lot in our approach to road trips. More on that later. After a couple of drinks and some food, C felt much better.

I called RG to tell him where we were, and since he was already in the neighborhood he came around to join us. The three of us enjoyed a lovely lunch on the patio, or whatever they call that chained off area in front of the restaurant. Afterward we went wandering around, RG showing us many interesting public places. We mostly did parks and stuff. We saw that duck pond thingie, and looked at lots of very old brownstones. The brownstones and a few of the super-swanky hotels in the city reminded me of some aspects of Biltmore House, especially how the super fancy rooms are on the first and second floors, the kitchens are in the basement, and the servants' rooms were in the unheated attic. Actually, Vanderbilt might have had some heat for his servants. He also built his house in Asheville, NC and not in frigid New England.

RG's account is much more accurate about where we went and what we saw. What we did was to spend a good deal of time on benches between bouts of walking a lot. I'm not used to walking that much. It's good for me, yes, but we should build up s-l-o-w-l-y. I was so stiff and sore when C and I got back to the hotel! Walking so much, then sitting in the car for the 45 minutes or so it took to get back to Danvers was not good for my poor, tired, sweaty body. Once here I rested for a few minutes, then took a warm shower. Felt some better after the shower, but was still stiff. I'm very tired now, but not as stiff. Analgesic pain reliever/muscle relaxers (OTC, nothing stronger) are most helpful.

C and I had a blast with RG! I had RG recount some of his stories for C, and I enjoyed laughing again at them. RG is a very good story teller. Perhaps I should have had C read some of RG's archives before our meeting, but I didn't think about it. Anyway, we had loads of fun. C got a great deal of enjoyment from seeing me walk so much, I think. The dear man has been trying to encourage me toward healthier habits for a very long time.

We wandered quite far from the original meeting place, and I was worried about walking all the way back. RG, bless his heart, walked us down to a T (subway) station where C and I rode back to within a block of the parking garage. That was a relief. It was kind of fun to ride the T, actually, and MUCH better than walking all that way back!

Tomorrow we are staying close, going into Salem to check out the college, and doing some of the touristy Salem stuff. Bewitching, don't you know.

A note about pictures: yes, I have some. I've been so busy with all this exercising and getting "befuddled" (I get befuddled, C gets lost, and we're together in the car I'm driving.) I'm extremely tired now, too tired to post the pictures. Blogger takes so long to load pics anyhow, and I don't have the patience for it now. They're coming, though!

Road Trip Log: Day 4

Total miles so far: _____(I'll let you know, assuming I remember to check in the morning.)

Location: Taunton, Massachusetts

Warning: drunk blogging ahead

C and I brought a bottle of Shiraz with us, just for fun. Tonight we got into it, plus the bottle we bought at the grocery/liquor store down the street. Here's the funny part: we went to the liquor store to buy a cork screw, having forgotten to bring one. We decided to buy another bottle of wine, just because. We picked a wine, found a corkscrew, paid the nice man wearing a Boston Red Socks t-shirt, and came back to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we discovered that the bottle we brought with us had a screw top. The bottle we bought tonight had a pseudo-cork, so we needed a corkscrew for that, but we would have been fine and dandy had we not stopped at the liquor store at all. Oh, and when Superman reads this, he should forget this particular paragraph since he's worried about the money I'm spending on the trip. I'll tell you, though, that it was a cheap bottle of Barefoot Shiraz. We're comparing Tall Horse Shiraz to Barefoot Shiraz. Barefoot wins, IMHO.

We (and by "we" I mean "I") are doing laundry tonight. C is talking to his boyfriend. Have I figured out what to call the sweetie yet? It appears I have not. Anyway, the load of laundry is in the dryer on its second go-round. We lucked out. Our room is on the same level as the laundry facilities in the hotel.

Traveling with someone is a good way to get to know a lot about him/her. C and I are very close, but let me tell you, we're learning more about each other. He is having a bit of trouble with my adventurous spirit. I understand that some people can't deal well with the thought of not knowing exactly what the plan is for tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or perhaps three days out. Only this morning did I make arrangements for our lodging tomorrow night. I was getting a slight bit concerned about it. Poor C was in a tizzy.

Here's my philosophy: life throws unexpected turns. One can not count on one's plans working out every time. It's good to know how to go with the flow, or to fly by the seat of one's pants, or pick your favorite cliche. This is a growth experience for C. When I told him that, he called bullshit on me. Eh, whatever.

Tomorrow's plan has us on Cape Cod, in the elbow region of the peninsula, to visit The Midnight Gardner. I am quite excited about that. He and I got to know each other via blog and email two summers ago, and I have wanted to meet him since then.

I'm so excited to be in Massachusetts. So far, it has lived up to my expectations and more. Reflecting on yesterday, I must say that Schenectady, NY was something of a disappointment. It looks like it was a fine city at one time, long in the past. It's very run down with a distressingly seedy ambiance. Especially the hotel we stayed at. O.M.G. Once I post the pictures... I think I mentioned that in my last post. A-fucking-mazing.

Speaking of pictures, I must tell you about C as a photographer. Remember when I mentioned that he has a vision impairment? Yeah, well, that's not a good attribute for a photographer, either. He does pretty well, all things considered. Kinda. As we have traversed the rolling hills and mountainous areas of the eastern seaboard and New England, I have had to tell him "Hey, this is pretty. Take a picture, dammit." He says that all these beautiful vistas and valley views look a lot alike. Well, after looking at the pictures, I can't come up with a good argument. They do. But all of them are so pretty!!

I have a good feeling about Massachusetts. New York made me a slight bit uneasy, but so far I like what Massachusetts has to offer. I wonder how much of that is preconceived notion...

My, but it's gotten late! Tomorrow is an early day, so I'll leave you now. There is so much more I have to share with you, but it shall have to wait for another time.

Road Trip Log: Day 3 (with mileage update)

Total miles so far: 1171 miles

Yesterday was day 3. You know, it doesn't take many days on the road to make me forget how many days we've been on the road.

But let me tell you about the evening of day 2. We stayed in Halfway, MD though the address technically was Hagerstown. My beloved Indigo lives in Baltimore, so he and his partner Doug drove inland, and we drove toward the coast until we met at Fredrick, MD. It's a lovely, quaint old town, but the roads are seriously messed up. I got quite befuddled. C accused me of being lost, and it took about 15 minutes to find our way to where Indigo had parked. I refuse to admit that I was lost. C may have been, but I wasn't. I just wasn't sure how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be. Mildly confused, but not lost.

We ate at a charming place, a micro brewery and restaurant that Doug found. I have pictures, but don't have time to load them now. I promise a picture-ful post in the near future.

Yesterday we had many more adventures in which I was befuddled and C was lost. He's about sick of my adventures, so today we plan to follow the detailed directions that Google gave me. And let me tell you something else about choosing one's navigator. In addition to informing said navigator of his duties, one should choose a person whose eyesight is adequate for the task. C has a congenital eye condition involving his retina that limits his effectiveness as a detail-oriented inspector of maps. He mentioned that reading glasses might help. HELLO! Tell me these things, darling! After breakfast yesterday morning we found a Wal-Mart and bought some maps (also a good thing for a navigator to have) and some reading glasses for the dear man.

We got through Pennsylvania quite handily, having found a good Pennsylvania map in southern Pennsylvania. However, there wasn't a New York map at the southern Pennsylvania W-M. Once we crossed the border things got a bit befuddling. I also bought a road atlas, though, which has maps of all the states. It does not, however, give much detail about Schenectady, so we had some challenges once we neared this city. We finally found the hotel, unfortunately.

The hotel. O.M.G. I have pictures which don't show the worst of it. When we got back from dinner last night we discovered which unit is selling the drugs. Thankfully it is on the ground level, and we're upstairs. We locked out door to the best of our ability (photographic evidence forthcoming) and stayed inside. Smoking is allowed in this room, so C didn't have to go outside for smokes. However, there is art on the walls, so it could be worse. (Again, photographic evidence to follow.)

There is more I could say, but it's after 10:00 already and we have some driving to do today. We also have maps and detailed directions! Navigation promises to be easier today. So after coffee and donuts (and maybe a touch of something healthier) we're off to Massachusetts.

:: Extra Bonus Experience :: I'm learning how to spell all sorts of long words, like Schenectady, Massachusetts, and gustatory.

Road Trip Log: Day 2

(posted Friday morning because the cheap, nasty hotel we stayed in that night didn't have WiFi)

Total miles so far: 667

Tonight we are in Halfway, Maryland. Halfway looked like a good stopping point.

Birdie had a good idea. I need to give C the camera and let him take pictures while I drive. Wish I’d done that today. We drove through the Shenandoah Valley, and OMG is it beautiful!

I designated C to be the navigator for our trip. When I needed his assistance as we were approaching today’s destination, he failed miserably. But that probably has something to do with the fact that I inadvertently forgot to tell him that he was my navigator. He fussed at me, saying that a navigator is the guy who tosses a rope off the back of the boat (no, he didn’t say “stern”) and counts the knots, and uses the astrolabe or some dumb shit to look at the stars. No, no, I said, that’s only on the sea, and clearly we are on land. Remember all the talk about asphalt, trucks, and speed limits enforced with airplanes?*

We’re roughing it with our nightly accommodations, staying in really cheap places. Tonight we’re in a Hotel 6. They spend so much money on the electric bill when they “leave the light on,” they have to scrimp on other amenities. There are complementary “bars” of soap not much bigger than a postage stamp, but no shampoo. Silly C failed to bring shampoo. That’s another story right there. There is no art on the walls in our room, which C finds unnerving. The bedspreads are so loud that I doubt any cheap motel art could compete. Oh, and the mattresses! Holy Cow! The edges are hard but there’s barely any support within. I sat on the bed and fell in. Glad I have my own bed, because if I had to share, both of us would slide to the center. It’s what (I think it’s) Garrison Keillor calls a deep valley bed.

The most significant deprivation, though, is lack of WiFi. WTF?? This is the 21^st Century, people! I am typing this on a Word doc, and will copy/paste it onto the blog when I have access to the internet.

So this hotel is across the street from some major shopping action. There is allegedly a mall over there, and I saw a Penney’s. Next to that, though, is Target and Michaels! (Who said “Tar-zhay” in his head?) We went to Target to pick up a few things, like shampoo for C. More OMG here. He spent the longest time finding just the right shampoo. Please, doll, just grab something shiny and let’s move on. Then he had to find a brush. This about killed me. After five minutes I asked him what he’d do if I gave him a 60 second time limit, then started humming the Jeopardy tune. He insisted that it was very important to get the proper brush, especially since he doesn’t have one at home. Oh, in that case I’ll sing the Jeopardy tune twice. s

*The signage in Virginia informed us that speed limits were enforced with airplanes. We speculated that the highway patrol has small engine planes with mounted guns, maybe bazookas. If they see a speeding car, they shoot it. That would probably deter speeding. C suggested perhaps they use helicopters with strong magnets to literally pick up speeders, removing the offenders from the flow of traffic.

Road Trip Log: Day 1

Miles driven so far: 199

We made it as far as Charlotte today. No, that's not very far.

We started out going the wrong way, sort of. We went to Columbia to see Diva. It was a short visit, relatively painless. She wants to come home on a weekend pass. I don't think I'm ready for that, and I'm pretty sure Sproing isn't ready either. You know she threatened to kill us, right? I'm not over that, mainly because I believe that even now she still wants us dead. Sproing says he hates her and never wants to see her again. Light hasn't admitted, at least to me, that she hates her sister, but she has told me that she doesn't want to ever see the girl again. Somehow that doesn't seem like a good atmosphere in which to bring the child.

From Columbia we came up the highway to Charlotte, and dropped by Twitch's place to drop of a big bulky piece of equipment he got from his grandma in Florida. He and Light didn't have room to bring it back with them, because they both needed lots of leg room in the front seat. This thing (a mat cutter for mounting artwork) is long, and only fit into the back of the car with the back seats folded down and the front passenger seat slid all the way forward. Sproing was able to fit in the seat fine, but C had an uncomfortable trip until we got to Twitch's place. The monstrosity is out of the car now, and C rearranged/repacked the car while I said hello/goodbye to Twitch.

C's boyfriend lives near Charlotte, so we're here now to meet up with him. The boys will spend a little while visiting until the boyfriend has to go back home. His mother likes to keep the poor kid on a short leash. We're down to less than three months until the young'un can leave home! I need to come up with a good name for the boyfriend. His name begins with the same letter as C's ex, and since I used that to refer to the ex, I don't want to use it now. Hell, that would confuse me.

We're staying the night in Charlotte, and will hit the road tomorrow aiming for Maryland. According to Google Maps, we will have approximately 7 hours of driving time tomorrow. It's not too much, really. Very reasonable. We're taking our time, having fun.

The drive from Columbia to Charlotte was very pretty. The sun is bright today, and there were perfect puffy clouds in the sky. Grass and trees are green, the sky is blue, all is right with the world. Traffic was light and fast until we got close to Charlotte, and even then it wasn't bad. We got here after the lunch rush and before the afternoon mess. If we get a good early start tomorrow we should have it pretty easy most of the drive to Maryland.

Update: As it turns out, the boyfriend was not able to get away to meet with us. C'est la vie. Somebody was very disappointed.

We made it back

Sproing and I are safely home again. He did amazingly well on our trip. The secret: go-kart racing! The poor deprived child had never driven a go-kart before. I remember go-kart tracks in the Orlando area from when I was a kid, so I did a quick Google search and found a great place not too far from where my Mama lives. I took the boy over there and WOW! He had more fun than he's had in a while. The smile on his face was so rewarding! It does a mother's heart good to provide that much hearty, healthy fun for her boy. I wish there was a go-kart track around here, but alas, we live under a rock.We got home last night around 9:30. I'm home today, then C and I head north to Massachusetts tomorrow. I need to check the route to figure out where we might stop for the night(s). I'm not sure how long to expect the trip to take. I will be the only driver, since C's license has expired and he needs a doctor's override to get it renewed. (Something about his squirrelly eyesight, having had a retina burned as a newborn due to other life-saving measures, or something like that.)

Unless I change my mind again, we will probably head north via I-81, through the Shenandoah Valley. That's one of my most favoritest places in the eastern U.S. We will miss the DC area with its associated traffic, etc. That route takes us back east through Pennsylvania. We'll experience the joys of New Jersey, then cross the Geo. Washington Bridge to traverse Manhattan Island. From there we hug the coast of Connecticut, then cut north to Massachusetts. Actually, I think I'll stay on the coast and head toward Cape Cod, just because I want to catch that experience and hopefully see my dear favorite garden blogger. I owe him an email and a warning! :)

Today holds errands. The car needs an oil change again, after the 1035 miles I put on her since we left last week. There is a bit of banking to do, and other assorted tasks of that nature. And laundry. Always laundry. It's time to get started on those tasks now, for look! It's already after noon!

Oh, and by the way,

Did I mention I was taking Sproing to Florida to see the relatives? Did I say anything about when this was happening? I ask because I called my mother this evening to tell her we would be at her house tomorrow, and she was totally shocked. Um, I remember telling her I was coming, but I seem to have failed to give her the updates about arrival times. Oops!

I'm typing this from the sofa in my brother's family room in Florida. Sproing and I left home before 8:00 this (Wednesday) morning, and got here at 5:00 this afternoon. The original plan was to arrive tomorrow. Oh, well. The second problem we might have is that my dad doesn't know I'm heading to his house in a couple of days. It's too late to call him now, of course. I hope I remember to call him tomorrow.

My plan was to get a good night sleep, then get up early and take Sproing to the beach before it gets too hot. The good night sleep is shot, since it's technically Thursday morning now. Maybe we'll get up early, do the beach for a couple of hours, then come back here and I'll take a nap before driving to Mama's place. It's only a 1 hour drive from here, but I could fall asleep if I'm not well rested.

I don't know how much I'll be able to do the blog thing over the next few days. I'll be here with Sproing until early next week (don't know exactly what day we're going home). Once I get home, I plan to take that road trip with C to check out the college in Massachusetts that I'm interested in. Nothing is definite, except that in the next half hour I'm going to take a shower and get in bed. Other than that, I'm not sure what will happen when.

I'm having fun, though!

I love to watch things shred

The SSI website has more great examples of destruction.

Yeah, I'm still here

...sort of. I'm dull. I can't think of anything much to say. (Watch out. I've had posts start out with that statement and go on for many, many column inches.) Let's try bullet points! They're always fun!

• Light and Twitch drove to Florida yesterday to visit their grandparents. This is the first time Light has driven such a distance. I heard they had a good journey, and so far seem to be enjoying their time with my relatives.
• Less than a week after they return, Sproing and I will make the same damn trip. Why didn't we all just go together? It makes sense from one perspective but there are so many valid arguments against it. For instance, we're driving the Aveo, a very small car. Sproing argues, loudly, with everyone all the time, especially his siblings. His dad and I are about the only ones who can stand to be with him that long. It's asking too much from his sibs. Light will be bringing home my mother's old non-portable sewing machine in its cabinet. Cargo space in the Aveo is premium, and we'd be hard pressed just to get all of our personal luggage in there. Light and Twitch really wanted this to be their own independent voyage, and having mom and little brother along ruins that effect. So Sproing and I are taking the same damn trip next week.
• In more encouraging traveling news, it looks like C and I will be driving to Salem, MA the last week in July. I'm interested in a grad program at Salem State, and Superman thinks it's a great idea to go check out the area. Road Trip!! Without Sproing!!
• Since it's a big topic of conversation in much of the country, I'll mention the weather. Yeah, it's hot. Hot and humid. Superman came home for lunch today and said that it was "Stupid Hot" outside. I had planned to take Sproing to get a haircut this afternoon, meaning I'd have to take Superman back to work, and the un-air conditioned truck is the only vehicle we have right now. He recommended that I stay home, so I did. And speaking of Salem, MA, I looked up the average temps for Salem on the Weather.com site. Oh, yeah! I know it's been hot there this week, but the average temperature for the month of July is 81-82F (27-28C), whereas our average highs here are at least ten degrees higher. I also checked winter average lows for Salem, and they're colder than what I'm used to, but mostly not unbearable. Though a few of the record lows were scary! That gets into the range of Stupid Cold.
• C and his boyfriend are still talking on the phone for hours and hours every night. He and I went to see the boyfriend last Friday. We went to the mall again, like we did the first time they met in person. I wish the guys could spend more time together. For now, though, we're waiting until the boyfriend turns 18 before doing anything major.
• Twitch's summer break ends this weekend. Summer quarter starts Monday the 12th. He and his sister will return from their adventure on Sunday. His only Monday class meets in the evening, so I'll drive him back to his apartment Monday morning.
• I visited Diva last Tuesday (if I recall) but am not able to see her this week, and probably not next week. We need the Aveo to drive to Columbia, as I don't want to take the truck so far away. It (the truck) would probably make the trip, but I don't want to push it. Also, no a/c. 'Nuf said.

And that's pretty much all I know. My brain is on summer hiatus. I didn't mean for it to go, but lack of stimulation will do that. I'm lazy.

An excerpt of interest

Today's Delancey Place

From the annals of science: in 1917, a cure was found for impotence and related maladies that involved transplanting the glands and testicles of goats, monkeys and humans into the patient. Though ultimately found to be fraudulent, it became a craze that swept across the U.S. and captured as patients a wide swath of Americans from movie stars to moguls:

"Ever since man began to walk upright, he had been obsessed when his penis would not behave likewise and searched for ways to fix the problem. The world's earliest known medical document, the so-called Edwin Smith Papyrus of Egypt dating from 1600 B.C., presents a strikingly sophisticated view of trauma surgery - except on the back, where one finds 'Incantation for Transforming an Old Man into a Youth of Twenty.' In ancient Greece an herb called satyrion, recommended by the philosopher Theophrastus in 320 B.C., was swiftly harvested to extinction. During the ensuing centuries cloves, ginger, and massaging one's genitals in ass's milk all had their vogue. In England around the year 1000, men were devouring 'love bread' (naked maidens romped in wheat, which was then harvested counterclockwise). The Middle Ages favored lubrication of the afflicted member with melted fat from camel humps. ...

"[For doctors experimenting in the 1910s], finding a human donor [of testicles for transplants to test a 'cure' for impotence] was actually easy, thanks to the help of Dr. Leo Stanley, chief surgeon at San Quentin prison in California. Three or four hangings a year offered the perfect chance to relieve relatively young men of their testicles without an argument. ... Testicles of these deceased felons were inserted into other prisoners, usually geezers with no chance of parole. According to Dr. Stanley's reports, most showed improvement. Seventy-two-year-old Mark Williams, half-senile at the implant, perked up within five days. ... Scientific journals, including JAMA, gave this work wide and respectful coverage. Dr. Stanley himself ... injected or implanted testicular material, both animal and human, into 643 inmates and 13 physicians. ...

"At the Park Avenue Hospital in Chicago in 1920, Dr. John Brinkley performed thirty-four goat-gland transplants, pausing often to chat with reporters. ... He had to say that his own technique, in which the goat gland 'humanized' in the scrotal sac, was 'far in advance of the Old World experts.' ... Dr. Stanley was now averaging fifty operations a month at $750 apiece, for a take of almost half a million dollars a year (in 1920s currency). Most patients walked in and lay down without even asking how the thing worked. 'I suppose a goat gland is a good deal like a potato,' said seventy-seven-year-old A.B. Pierce of Nebraska. 'You can cut a potato all in pieces and plant it and every eye will grow.' "

Author: Pope Brock
Title: Charlatan
Publisher: Crown
Date: Copyright 2008 by Pope Brock
Pages: 32-53

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