Ramble On

This is all Matt Wertz's fault. If he hadn't put "Steal My Girl" on his #WertzWednesdays playlist last year it would have been something I heard but never really listened to. Then I never would have ended up in Baltimore on a Saturday night amidst the deafening screams of 50,000 fangirls.  But he did, and I did, and that's where my story starts. I originally toyed with the idea of going to see One Direction, sort of because I was curious about what the show would be like, and sort of because I really, really liked some of the songs off their last album (again, all Matt Wertz's fault ).  I saw the ticket prices and immediately tossed the idea.  No way I could excuse that kind of spending on a personal experiment.  But back in February I got a call from a teacher friend of mine who, in her voicemail, simply said "Hi! I have a crazy idea... call me back. Bye." Her crazy idea was that she wanted her 2015 Frivolous Tax Refund Check Expenditure to be t...

In preparation for this past weekend, episodes of MTV's "reality" show Jersey Shore came to mind. Mostly what kept popping into my head was that sound byte from the opening credits where Snooki yells, probably to no one in particular, "We're going to Jersey Shore, BITCH!". What happened this last weekend on the Jersey Shore was restoring and draining, gorgeous and ugly, challenging and easy as pie, or rather, donut.  This is my tale of the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in Seaside Heights, NJ. My tickets for this musical event were purchased with little other thought than 1) I know people in Jersey, 2) Mumford and Sons are playing within a semi-reasonable distance for the first time in 2 years.  I bought two tickets lickety split and the rest fell into place gradually over the next three months. Within about a month, MandS had booked a show at a local venue, albeit one that I hate, but I was still very happy with my decision to drive 4 hours instead of 1 t...

It dawned on my Sunday evening that I hadn't seen my Kindle in a while.  I've been off e-reader for a few weeks because I've been reading books I've gotten from the library.  I started to look for it in the usual places I leave it around my apartment.  Then I started to look for it in the unusual places I might have weirdly left it in the apartment. I started to get upset.  This is the second time I have misplaced my Kindle. I think of it like a book, which it absolutely is not.  But I don't have the same presence of mind with it as I do with my phone.  Anyway, I texted a few friends whom I had visited in the last couple of weeks, and they hadn't seen it either.  I usually bring it to church because I have a bible on it and I like not carrying the big book with me all the time.  So I called the reception desk and a very sweet southern accent greeted me. I asked whether or not there was a "Lost and Found" for the church, and if so, could I ...

An edited version of this post appeared in the TFCA Current, but I wanted to post the extended version here.   I never look forward to winter.  I cower under the dark, bleak cold. It makes me draw inward. This past summer, I saw a production of William Shakespeare's  A Winter's Tale , which has both redeemed the name of Winter for me, and also given me reason to reevaluate how I think about the season.    Long after I saw the play, my mind kept returning to the final scene.  It develops around the statue of Hermione, the virtuous and long-suffering victim of her husband's misconceptions. Leontes, Hermione's husband and King of Sicilia, and Paulina, Hermione's faithful servant, enter with the rest of the characters.  The scene opens under the assumption that everyone in the room is gazing at Hermione's uncanny likeness carved from stone.  The guilt-ridden king sincerely laments the wrong he has done:   "I am ashamed: does not the sto...

We woke up the next morning ready to tackle the last of our road tours: Snaefellsnes peninsula.  The way we were pronouncing the name, it sounded more like Snapple-sneeze.  We found out from our chef at the restaurant on Saturday night that it was pronounced Sn-AY-fell-snis. However you say it, it certainly held the most stunning views of our entire trip.  We headed north out of Reykjavik around 8am, getting to our first stop on the Peninsula around 10am, just as the light was full and still low in the sky, creating a heavenly glow against the cliffs and the huge breaking waves in Arnarstapi's overlook. It was dangerous to stand on the overlook for too long because, although it was clear and sunny, the winds were 50mph and it was hard to stay upright.  When we opened our car doors we had to hold on to them so they didn't fly away from us.  But my oh my...that view.  That sea!  I wish I had more to write for you about what we saw, but basically we...

We spent basically all of our third day in Iceland in the car.  We were up by 7, hit the road by 8 and had a four hour drive along the south coast out to Vatnajokull glacier.  We went in search of Svartifoss waterfall, which is a short hike, but mostly we just wanted to drive along the coast and see the territory out there.  It was unbelievable. I never realized how much I love driving when I have beautiful unknown territory around me.  I was loving riding in our 4x4 on these roads, through a landscape that looked otherwordly in color and shape.  Kristen played DJ and we chatted, and the 4 hours passed quickly. Here's some of what we saw: 9am - Sunrise We arrived at Skaftafell, which is at the foot of the Vatnajokull Glacier (see below) and just took in the scenery for a moment.  I would like to add here that in the 4 hours we spent on the road driving out there, we MAYBE saw 6 other cars. Total. The entire time.  Bliss!   The hike out t...