Thursday

Just a few lines this afternoon before taking off for home.  My day began early enough in Des Moines and included a march through some rush-hour traffic on the mid-town freeway.  I could have avoided that hassle if I didn't commit to a stop at Starbuck's for an Americano.  Just a few extra minutes, and the congestion was caused mostly by the blinding sun facing Eastbound traffic.

Really enjoyed the overnight in DM.  Golf On Waveland Municipal Golf Course in the center of the city was pretty much what you would expect on a high-use, public course...by someone who hasn't played much this year.  (My back is killing me today!)  Dinner was at the West Des Moines Biaggi's, which was a new experience for my pal Richard.  I had a room at the Chase Suite Hotel (which I think was an Extended Stay place at one time).  Good location.  Fair price.  Top-shelf breakfast (including made-to-order omelets, if you are into that thing).

It was an unremarkable drive back to the QCA except that it occurred to me along the way that Interstate 80 is one of the "connectors" in my life story.  I've certainly spent enough time on that pavement over the years for it to merit some recognition.  Obviously, I'm hardly the only person in the world who can make that statement, but when a person mentions "I-80" in our family, there is fairly universal understanding that we're working on familiar turf.

(I would make the distinction that I-80 didn't really become part of my world until that first trip to South Bend in September 1967 when Mother dropped me off for freshman year.  Up until that time, I was a Highway 63 kid.  I mean, we spent most of the time going to and from Ottumwa on 63, and it wasn't like we made lots of trips outside of Wapello County.  At least I didn't.)

In my adulthood, I-80 has been the portal for all of the forms of human endeavor for me and our family.  Here's a Top Ten list to put meat on that bone:

1.  Education.  Starting with the ND runs, then graduate school in the '70's, segments to the TC for 1, Missouri and Oklahoma for 2, and the beaten path to IC for 3 and 4.

2.  Business.  Des Moines and KC have been great for my practice.  Lots of Chicago too.

3.  Entertainment.  Can you say "Adventureland, I saw it first?"

4.  Challenge.  Uh, I-80 and Winter.  Construction?  Say no more.

5.  Exhilaration.  Hitting the I-80 bridge at LeClaire when coming home from school or the USAF was always a great feeling. 

6.  Adventure.  It does go pretty much coast-to-coast, and those were eye-opening trips for me in my early 20's.

7.  Commitment.  Lots of trips to visit Mother and Daddy as they aged.  Every one was worth it.

8.  Economics.  I'd have 3 run some lifetime operating costs for my mileage, but I know I wouldn't like the metrics of that analysis!

9.  Friendships.  Those key pals I always talk about?  We've spent a lot of time together on that track.

10. Family.  From a perspective of just me, I-80 has always been the route to take to see the fam.

As I finish this, I'm thinking that the resident stooge at USA Today will be reading this over the weekend and tweaking it as his own idea as he waxes left-ish on the good old days back in Vermont and how Route 15 was the the linkage to his family, friends and his bucolic way of life.  (Sorry couldn't help myself there.)

I'm off to a little din-din with 4 to catch up on her life on the mid-night shift.  I'm making her Daughter of the Day for sucking up those wee hours.  I did that at Dover AFB when I was about her age, and it was never what I would call fun.  Then again, in my case, most of the brass was gone at that hour, which was always a good fact pattern.

(3 has had some excitement in The Big Apple with movers, protesters, and rogue traders.  Never a dull moment in The Fast Lane, eh Kiddo?)

I may get back here later.

BCOT