Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1546
The drive home, a terrible wreck, the joy of opening packages, there is a new Shaker.
Hi hi hi. We are home. I am behind on sending you this lovely email. Got home late. Like almost 2AM. Got around New York City like pros — Tappan Zee bridge for life, baby.And our new theory from the trip up — that you should just ignore the apps and go the route you want — held up. We ignored the apps and took 85 instead of the Merritt. Once the apps realized what we were doing, they shaved 10 minutes off our time. And when they realized we were taking the Tappan Zee (it will never bee the Cuomo) instead of the GWB, twenty minutes went off our time.
But right after we got around the city, the section of I-95 parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike was closed, all the traffic routed onto the Turnpike, and that added a 40 minute delay. Would have been no avoiding it no matter which genius route we went around the city. So then we were looking at 12:30 AM arrival instead of midnight.
Navigated DC like pros. Ignore the map apps. Take the west side beltway. So much smoother, maybe a minute longer, zero stress. Really the best way to go. At 9PM anyway.
Then we got to Richmond and we made the decision to go straight through town and not take the beltway — Richmond is never that trafficy but everyone speeds on 95 through the city and drives like maniacs. But it was like 10:30 PM at that point so there probably wasn’t gonna be much traffic.
But right after we committed to that decision, the ETA on both apps shot up an hour. It took us about 30-40 minutes to even get within site of it, but a giant, terrible, horrible wreck had just happened. Ambulances still racing to the seen, disoriented teenage emo kids sitting on the side of the road. Five cars wrecked including one that had obviously rolled several times across multiple lanes. It looked bad. And it added an hour to our arrival time.
And Jane got to see it all.
Delicacy of human life, man.
Emma the driving machine drove us from Boston to Richmond, through we reck, I did the last two-ish hours. I put on my headphones, keep the passthrough on so I can hear my family and any horns and sirens, and I crank the rock and I just go for it. It was great. Awsome late-period Hot Chop song that I don’t remember — “No God.” Kicked the night off with the live version of “So What’ from In Case You Didn’t Feel like Showing Up Live, the last Ministry tour I ever saw man I should have seen them again.
Got home with 8 miles of range left in Emma’s gas tank. But the stress of running out of gas sure kept me awake.
Jane was a great travel companion as usual. On the night time drives we get about 30 minutes to an hour of whining as she takes longer than usual to fall asleep. It was exacerbated this time by the kids melatonin going to pot, and her taking her shoes off and finally discovering how smelly feet can get when you don’t wear socks. We always warn her, she had to learn the hard way.
But now we are home. 8AM window repair people and landscapers. Got maybe six hours of sleep.
Woke up and started unpacking and opening all my mail, man I love opening all the packages when you get home from a long trip. Lots of records, a brand new Hal Hartley film (so exciting!), some gifts for Jane, a book, a t-shirt. Just the best.
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And to that end we have put our “To Investigate” playlist on pause and are listening to all the new vinyl. Just finished the “new” live Galaxie 500 and now I am listening to a Songs:Ohia re-issue: Impala. Molina was mostly a live phenomenon for me back in the 90’s, would go see pretty much all his bands when they came through town, but didn’t buy many of the records. So I have been buying these Songs:Ohia re-issues over the last few years. Pure, unadulterated 90’s indie rock nostalgia, take me back to that blonde duck hair and grey corduroy jacket I wore back then. American Spirt yellows and buying Fugazi tickets from Mystery Train.
Very happy to be home. Home is where the heart is. Even though I seem to have gained six pounds in two weeks on this trip, despite walking 200% more. WTF. But much to do, much to do. Just got off a leadership meeting at work. I am a bit overwhelmed. This will be a short one.
BUT I DO HAVE VERY IMPORTANT NEWS.
THERE IS A NEW SHAKER
SABBATHDAY LAKE NOW HAS THREE SHAKERS
BROTHER ARNOLD AND SISTER JUNE NOW HAVE A FRIEND.
And she’s only in her 50’s! The Shakers might live on!
Now, there have been third Shakers before. At least once, anyway. And they fell in love with a reporter from the Globe sent to cover the Sabbathday Lake community and abjured their shaker vows and bomp shicka womp womped with the reporter, iirc.
But I have faith in Sister April. She can do it.
Late 50’s? Great time to take a celibacy vow.
It’s not because no one wants to hook up with you, it’s because you took a celibacy vow.
So very exciting.
I mean, obviously I was excited. I used all caps.
When we got home last night just before two, I parked the car, did a little stretch, then gently took Jane out of her car seat and carried her into the house, up the stairs, into her room, and into her bed and tucked her in and my god that is just one of the absolute greatest parenting moments of all time. A+. Would recommend.
Got a W Hotel Lobby in a Better, Alternate Universe playlist for you today. Boy I want to live in that universe, without ICE and the tangerine and the fascism and Putin and genocide wouldn’t that be swell? And the music in the lobby of hotels would be really good and inexplicably contain both the Boss and Addison Rae it would make no sense.
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Thanks for reading.
And hey! Maybe buy one of my books!
Good Morning, Hello, How Are You vol 1.