I’ve been doing my share of driving lately, so I thought I’d post this little series. It has run here before, but that was about seven years ago, I think. I used to spend many hours on the road but not so much in the past few years. Now, I’m back at it to a degree. I’ve been traveling the same roads a lot, a back-and-forth type journey. I get bored with the same old scenery and the same old obstacles. I know to slow down for this speed trap. I know when the traffic in that city will be terrible. I know where ALL the bathroom stops are. Well, that last one can be a good thing, but I find myself looking at road maps (or MapQuest, etc.), searching for alternate routes, the “blue highways” popularized in the 70s by William Least Heat Moon’s book of the same name. Do you do that? I have wound up in some amazing places.
On another note, I have been contacted by visitors to this site who are worried about a regular who has been conspicuous by his absence lately. Popularly known as “Ghost,” he is so regular that others are worried, because he has failed to post in the past 10 days or so. I certainly share hopes that Ghost is all right, but I am afraid I am powerless to do much, beyond encouraging him to let his friends know he is all right, if his absence is deliberate for whatever reason. I’m proud of the feeling of community many of you share, but that is your doing, not mine. I hope Ghost will return soon.
62 responses to “On the Road, Again”
Steve,
Your story reminds me of the story of the older couple, who’s grown kids told them they couldn’t visit for Thanksgiving. The mother called one of the daughters and told her that she and her father were getting a divorce after 50+ years of marriage. The daughter immediately called her sister and brother and told them to plan to visit the parents immediately that it was a family crisis and she called the mother and told her of their visit. The mother hung up the phone and asked her husband, “Well, what can we tell them to get them to visit for Christmas?”
go to an antique mall, and find old highway maps from the 50s/60s. the major roads on those maps are the two lane highways of today, and you can do some great back roading with them
What a great idea. I just look for winding and rambling with dots alongside the line.
With all the drama about our missing Ghost, a song has been running through my mind… From Bye Bye Birdie… We Love You Conrad…
I am using my tablet so I can’t post a YouTube link, but you can look it up. I am sure Ghost remembers it.
Yes, we really DO care!
Debbe 😉 I’m baaaackk… 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWhH5isNvUc
I don’t know if I made it clear or not, but while I was AWOL I didn’t even have time to *read* posts, much less enter posts of my own. I’m still working my way through them, but I saw where you said you were going through a bad patch related to your Mother’s passing. Of course, I can identify with that. Hope you are doing better now, hon. And the music will resume.
Gal 😉 I do remember, and thanks. 🙂
Oh. My gosh. That is the ONLY song anyone ever allowed me to sing in a musical! I was one of the fainting teenage girls who sang to Conrad Birdie (off key and whimny ) “We love you Conrad, oh yes we do, we love you Conrad and we’LL be true..”
I will never FORGET the only time I got to sing on stage. The rest of the time they told me to mix with the chorus and keep my mouth shut!
Posted from a tablet, https://youtu.be/VYRkPJC2_W0
Well I didn’t have the Ann Margaret role, that required actual talent and a voice. I was one of the air brained fainting chicks. I remember my friend who played Conrad wore a gold lame’ stretch suit with jewels all over it.
This satire was about Elvis and Conway Twitty who most of us don’t remember as a teen idol of that magnitude but we are talking Broadway musical between 1961 and 1963 and that was before Elvis dressed like that. I remember it being produced on Broadway by financing from my hometown so we got to perform at end of the live run and way before movie.
Debbe, and Ghost, Halloween’s getting closer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04EShclPAa0
Debbe, from his latest album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PwQrEbEnrM
Mark the whole time Ghost was MIA I kept thinking of Ghostbusters and I just watched entire video. It was funny, I tried to link, I still need lessons in phone!
And how could I not think of the famous pottery class in Ghost?
Forced myself to watch that one too.
And since Ghost vanished when we offered to buy and deliver a kilt, how about the killed ghosts in Brigadoon who got to come back for one day and dance?
Mark
Thanks for the Bad Cat tip will order at the library.
Have to cultivate a new librarian – why is it all my go to people are retiring?
Debbe
Thanks as always for the chzbgr.com links – I share and the list is growing
long enough I am afraid “they” will soon ask if I am human.
I agree about Blue Highways must have read that close to 40ya.
An Acquaintance is about to take that sojourn.
When we win big in the lottery I am going to hire a driver to take the back roads
And design a vehicle where the driver sits behind the 2 front seat observers.
Ghost for some reason I had a premonition you would show up today – of course
if you had’ent it would have been a failed premonition.
Glad you are back.
Anonymous, haven’t seen Brigadoon, but do remember the I Love Lucy episode that did a takeoff on it.
You know, as far as your getting the Scottish wool cape, etc, maybe your boat-building associate from the UK would have some good suggestions as to where and how to buy more. It’s getting late in the year, but next year look for a Scottish Celebration somewhere you would like to travel. They have one in Tennessee I went to once. Great food, herding dog demonstrations, all kinds of vendors, and for the ladies, brawny men performing feats of strength and skill.
For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLXQODW-krk
Anonymous, your story of mixing (hiding?) amongst the others and remaining silent on stage reminded me of the Mandrell Sisters TV show (in, what was it, the 80s? I was a mere child back then 🙂 ) , including Irlene, the youngest one who played the drums. I always had the impression her mic was dead, and she was just lip-syncing the songs. But, as I’m sure you were, she was quite decorative. 😉
And still think I need that cape to enhance my superhero image.
Dearest Ghost, am I ever glad that you are back in the land of the living. No kidding, I was ready to give up! Let’s all fix things so that someone will know what to do if we disappear.
A big thank you to JJ and Mark and to all who helped in the search. Ghost, did someone let you know we were desparate to hear from you, or was it a coincidence?
Purely a coincidence, Sweet Charlotte. Late this morning was literally the first time I’d been able to check in since my last previous post. And the last thing I ever expected was to see my name *above* the comments. 🙂
Perhaps we should leave in our last instructions that our obituaries are to be published here under our screen names? Wow, that came out morbid.
Mark, this is for you, due to the SCA connection.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/10/10/indy-woman-uses-medieval-combat-training-sword-stop-intruder/73669428/
Thank Dog the poor intruder, who was obvious suffering from a disability (self-intoxication), was not actually cut or stabbed, thereby becoming a victim of “sword violence”. 🙂
Somehow I went back on YouTube to find Highland dancing scenes and ended up watching Edinburgh Tattoo and military sword dancing in kilts. You all are making me feel really old because I was a stage manager in college version of Brigadoon in 1960s and Ghost was apparently not even a tadpole then or even a supermarket or egg.
By the way, the Honda service guys were terribly disappointed when I told them it was national bra less Day (they were doing something in support of breast cancer awareness) but no one had come in yet. When I went In bathroom I decided it didn’t make much difference.
Yes, about all I contributed to most theatrical performances was eye candy. Seems the story of part of my life.
Ghost
All I get is a survey blanking the screen.
A Nony Mouse
Check out a Renaissance Festival they have capes – maybe in Tartan.
Do here in MN – and I know you would enjoy the experience – Tumbrels full
of Craft People. I enjoy them as much as the “Entertainment”
I typed sperm which spellcheck considers risqué and changed to supermarket.
Love craftsmen women. Once wove hundreds of those dried flowers and ribbon head dresses for such affair. Smartphone is winning.
A Nony Mouse
Maybe you meant a gleam in his daddy’s eye
So that’s where the near constant gleam in my eye came from!
Bear, I get that survey, too. (One of the delights of accessing the InterWebNet version of any of the Gannett fish-wrappers.) Usually, I’ve found, one only has to click on one response at random to get the survey to go away. What boggles my mind is the fact the company apparently thinks there is some value to collecting random, unverifiable information.
Almost as much as my mind is boggled by the thought that speelchek thinks “sperm” is a misspelling of “supermarket”.
“Clean up on Aisle 7.”