It's Day 24 of our little trek, and I'm in Douglasville, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, staying with my niece and her family. Libby's getting another dose of country living, with her southern canine cousins, both females. There were a few raised hackles at first, reminded me of the woman who pulled up behind me at the Hope Mills General Store, in appropriately named, Hope Mills, VA. By the time that brief stopover was through, I was hoping to get out of there alive. … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2011
We Tried to Make ’em Go to Rehab
July 27, 2011 By
I've needed to talk about this for a long time, my brother Garrett. Even though the death of my brother Don eleven months ago weighs fresh on my heart, I lost another brother back in 2002. I still miss him very much. I'd intended to tell you about Garrett on what would have been his 60th birthday, on June 27th. Wow, 60. That's as hard to imagine as JFK being old, you know? Anyway, June 27th, was supposed to be my last day on the job and I had this great tribute to … [Read more...]
Zen and the Art of Canine Maintenance
July 26, 2011 By
I figure now is just as good a time as any, to talk about what's it like to travel with a big, yeller dog, seeing how three weeks ago today we rolled out of St. Louie. Being prompt is not my forte. It's taken me this long to get into a routine. There are so many different considerations -- who eats first, who poops first, how far I have to go for coffee, how far I have to go to find a blade of grass for her to be inclined to pee on, how hot it is, how safe it is, how … [Read more...]
Fuel for the Journey! Thank you IAMS !!!!!!
July 25, 2011 By
Today is day 21 on my coast-to-coast road trip with my dog. So far, I've stopped in: Springfield, (IL) Chicago, Holy Toledo!; Youngstown, OH; Philadelphia; NYC; Washington, DC; Waynesboro and Culpeper, VA; and tonight, I'm in Winston-Salem, a lovely little city in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, which places it conveniently about an hour and a half to the mountains, four hours to the blessed Carolina coast. Yes, this is a real photo below. I genuinely love it … [Read more...]
Get Another Dog
July 24, 2011 By
So one of my readers, Alysa from France inspired me this morning. Merci. I have never set eyes on this young woman who is undoubtedly young enough to be my daughter, who encourages me all the way from Europe, some days, when I need it more than you can imagine. As much as this may seem like a lark, (I know, nobody put a gun to my head) it's lonely on the road. I get down. I get homesick. I get fearful of getting sick, losing Libby, getting a flat tire or the trots. It's … [Read more...]
Millionaire Football Players and Eight Year Old Boots
July 22, 2011 By
With the breathless anticipation of the impasse between the millionaire football players and billionaire owners nearing an end, I'd like to share a little story about my experience with the former -- and how, my darling daughter Lauren, in DC now on an internship, is a chip off the scrappy block. I was a video producer for a creative agency until three weeks ago and I had the great fortune (I mean this sincerely) of working on one of the most high-profile accounts in … [Read more...]
DC, Where Quarters Are King
July 19, 2011 By
Getting ready to roll out of our nation's capitol and it's been alternately fun and frustrating. Some lessons learned: 1. Me and my 86-pound mutt can indeed stowaway in the women's dorm for three days. 2. The money I saved on hotel bills was made up for in parking fines outside the building. 3. Chicken bones abound. 4. My daughter is as scrappy as I am. More on that later. 5. People wear ridiculous shoes - both tourists and the millions of office workers on the … [Read more...]
Saturday, a.k.a. Shudderday
July 18, 2011 By
I've been so lucky in my travels so far, sunny weather, cordial people. Well, the guy who nearly ran me over on Fulton Street in Brooklyn with his BMW wasn't too friendly. But overall, I have no reason to have the heebie-jeebies. You know, nervous, like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. But I do. Damnit, I do. Saturday, I had the shudders bad. I was about 23 miles northeast of Baltimore when traffic on I-95 came to an absolute standstill. A wreck, … [Read more...]
A Little Piece of My Heart In Her Water Bowl
July 16, 2011 By
I’ve already gotten used to the rhythm, of Brooklyn, on Lefferts Place, in this particular corner of this teeming city -- the morning sounds; the sidewalk construction, kids shooting hoops out on the sidewalk, mothers pushing babies in strollers that prattle and clack on uneven pavement, cars blasting hip hop, planes on final descent into LaGuardia, the phantom whoosh of the subway, people walking by talking into cell phones, or thin air. And these are not even folks … [Read more...]
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
July 14, 2011 By
There were many, you know. To ignore them would be folly. One just has to be open to receiving them. Of course the first sign, the epiphany day, was like a billboard for a Triple XXX Adult Book store on a rural Missouri highway. (Why do they have so many adult book stores along Missouri highways? It's more prevalent than meth these days.) But Libby's dramatic interp with the powerless fence, was most assuredly, a sign from the universe. Then, they became more subtle. … [Read more...]
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