Weekend recap: Making a run...

Ramblings Post #117
Somethings in life you gotta do. You gotta double down on 8s or 9s. You gotta own at least one time in your life, a leather jacket (even if later you join PETA). You gotta go see family. You gotta honor them that look out for you. Life is too long believe you can make it on your own, and too short for you to learn all you need to learn. Oh, you gotta, one time you gotta, look chance in the eye, take a deep breath and go for it.

It's not often that I get outside of Atlanta. I have friend who regularly posts Facebook photos from her jaunts to China, or Switzerland or where ever it is her job takes her, and another whose life has let him be able to honestly give himself the nickname "Globetrotter". I think he's in Stuttgart, Germany right now. I, on the other hand, joke about how I might have to renew my passport to go outside the perimeter ( the affectionate nickname for the highway that circles the city). Which is odd because I dream of traveling. So me heading out to town for family was kinda of a big deal.

I stayed in Friday and tried to do a little writing. That didn't work because I got distracted - making dinner, calling Sporty, eating dinner, internet, picking music to write by. Okay, so I did a little writing, maybe three paragraphs, but I need to get up to 5 or 10 pages a sitting. Not a day, a sitting. But I went to bed relatively early because I had a big day on Saturday.

As a suggestion, in the summer time, make sure the AC in your car works prior to long trips.

My plan was to get up between 6 and 7am, clean up the yard a bit - they only just finished repairs from the break-in, clean up the house and be on the road by something like 9am. So, at about 11, I got on the road. Yeah, Right.

The ride through the GA was hot. Like Africa hot. Picking cotton hot. Ya'll stop playing hot. I stopped in Augusta for water running about 20 minutes ahead of schedule, and decided to take I-20 to I-26 to Hwy 301 all the way to the little town of Santee, a few towns over from where I was going, instead of my normal ride through the back country. This way I could keep the breeze going by not having to slow down in all those little towns whose budgets run on speeding ticket money.

You ever go back someplace you hadn't been in a while, and something has changed...weirdly. Because for some strange reason, there was traffic on I-26. Like bumper to bumper Atlanta rush hour style traffic. On your standard, in the middle of nowhere, no city for miles highway. On both sides. The entire state of South Carolina has half the population of the city of Atlanta, and the only time I-26 is supposed to be crowded is USC is having a home game. Only this is miles and miles from the USC stadium. No accident, no construction work, just traffic. For no good reason. This is the highway where, as a youth, due to the lightness of traffic I regularly clocked speeds in excess of 100 - 120 mph (the car I drove closely resembled that of local law enforcement). This highway isn't supposed to have traffic!

I-26 on a Saturday afternoon, ain't supposed to look like this!

And if you've just driven for three hours, with no AC, at the apex of summer, and suddenly run into stop and go traffic, let's just say you aren't always the happiest person in the world.

Note to self: get AC fixed.

I finally arrived in my own personal sauna, only 40 minutes or so late.

My grand mother and grandfather were fine, with her imploring me for her great grandchildren (although there were at least six or seven in attendance) and him razzing me about not coming to visit more often. I saw my aunts, a few cousins from the DC area who don't get down much - including one with a surprise wedding announcement, and uncles who only now are starting to look a little old. My mom pulled out pictures of my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary - this year was their 70th - to embarrass more than a few of us with the candid awkward photos of youth. (My brother has hair!)

Family pictures would go here, but...
I'm still awaiting photo approval from some cousins.

After a few of hours joking my peoples and refreshing family connections, I went back to my parents house and from the heat and hunger passed out, er..went to sleep. Slept good too.

I rose the next morning and did a repeat in reverse to slide back Atlanta in time for co-workers wedding. They're both long time employees of the "Chicken plucking factory" and so there were a lot chicken pluckers in attendance. So it felt a little like I was at work. The invitation said 4pm. I got back, got showered, rode down to the Southside and showed up right at 4pm. Um...right.

The invitation said 4pm. For the uninitiated, had the real start time occurred between 4pm and 4:30, we'd have been on what African Americans considered "Colored People Time" or CPT. We breezed past 4:30 with the ambiance music still playing. Any start time after 4:30 for a 4pm event...well, then we just on N-word time. The actual ceremony started at 4:49pm. I know the exact time because I had turn off the game on my phone and the exact time flashed before my eyes. Please note the wedding party came in, the reverend ad-libbed, the vows were said, and the wedding party receded 5:14pm. I know this exact time because that's when I sent a text Sporty - former co-worker so she knew these folk - to voice my irritation.

Sporty found my irritation funny. Apparently the reception is the long part.

I briefly checked into the reception, then faded out. It would have been cool to hang out with the co-workers for a hot minute , but I was not in the mood for repeating myself from the day before. Took my well traveled butt home and crawled in the bed for some much needed Air Conditioned rest.

This week I'm gonna start getting some structure back. I beginning to think I need structure.

Barkeep...whatever you can put in a glass about yea big.