Things I Love About Summer: Part 5

It really has been a pretty good summer even with how busy it has been.  I have been able to enjoy some of the things that make summer what it is.  Quick trips are one thing I love about summer.  Over the 4th of July weekend, I was able to make a trip to see my mom in Indiana.  She moved there several years ago to be closer to my sister and moved into a complex a step above assisted living. 

I try to see her two or three times a year, wishing it could be more as we are thankful to still have her with us, but a few times is better than none.   

I got to help her pick up her apartment a little, go through some papers, visit with some other residents, and have dinner together.  We were going to watch fireworks on T.V., but we got so hung up in conversation that we both forgot to turn the television on.  She asked me a question that really threw me for a loop, but it was a good reflection for me. She asked me what I want to accomplish in this stage of life.  This question forced me to sit back and think.  My gut response was just to make it through each day.  I see retirement in the near future, like the light is just now shining at the end of the tunnel, but, yeah, it is still a trip to get there.  

After some nervous laughter and thinking, my best answer is to help my daughters through the next steps in their lives.  They will both be freshmen this fall, one in college and one in high school.  I have spent a lot of time this summer preparing myself for this change, but my mom's question kind of changed my perspective.  

I don't get this kind of visit any other time of year, because there is the worry of hurrying back to work. 
Or, something about the short days of winter just doesn't encourage sitting back and taking time.  

Part of the joy of small summer trips like this is the drive.  It was a seriously hot and humid set of days, so there were a lot of trucks with blown-out tires from the searing hot pavement.  This image doesn't exactly summon up feelings of summer relaxation, but the drive on a hot, sunny summer day with blue skies and puffy white clouds do shape together a relaxing day.  I had time to reflect on my time with my mom and look forward to what is ahead.  There aren't many times in the year where I allow myself to relax like summertime, which is why quick summer trips are one of the things I love about summer.  

100,000

I heard a statistic yesterday that the average American gets a new car every four and a half years. It was a timely stat for me because this December 31 my Aztec will be in my possession as a new car for eight years, and on Wednesday it rolled through 100,000 miles. While I did sink some considerable money into it between miles 75,000 to 90,000 miles, it still seems like a well worn "new" car to me. I can't imagine trading it in for a new car. I know the crazy sounds and scrapes that it makes; I know the handling of it to the detail. In fact, I must keep my hands in the 10 to 2 zone on the steering wheel because it is worn smooth. In many ways, it is as much me as it is my car.
This is the second car I have taken to post 100 thousand miles. It is unimaginable to me why we as a society need to trade cars every four and a half years. I enjoy thinking about the different roads the Aztec has been on and where it has taken me. Besides covering most most roads in the central Illinois region to Chicago and the Quad-Cities, the Aztec has taken me to Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. It has helped me move three times; it has carried my bikes and bike trailer to multiple trail heads, hiking paths, camp grounds, and adventure. It has suffered through listening to Cubs wins and losses on 720AM; it has cheered on Notre Dame and the Bears as well as a few Bulls games on long drives. It has suffered through my eclectic music collections. It brought my daughter home from the hospital after she was born. It has been my home base after numerous races.
I have never gotten a car to 200,000, but maybe this is the one. Let you know in about 8 years.

Off to Minnesota: Day One

Sometime early last school year as we began our team teaching experience in American Studies, Rich Schurter and I decided that we would ride North on our bikes to Stillwater, Minnesota. Our goals were somewhat unclear, even to this day, but I think we were looking for something in America. What shapes us? What makes us unique? How do "we" change as we get further away from "home?" What is the voice of this land?

It would be the first road trip for me on a bike, and our path would complete a trip Rich started several years ago. We spent the entire year talking and planning. I bought my first road bike in January. Finally, school was out on Friday, May 29, and on Saturday, May 30 we were off. Rich's wife, Vicki, drove us to Kewanee, Illinois for us to start the first stretch to Muscatine, Iowa. The sunny and warm day was perfect except for one thing...wind. The wind was coming out of the west and we were on a westward path 90% of the day. The sustained winds were relentless and really beat us up.

Regardless of the wind, we did find enjoyment and some good laughs. Just south of Cambridge we rode past a "nice" junk shop that had a sign outside naming the establishment as "Fine Junque." I am sure any other day it would have been worth a stop.

The novice rider came out in me when we were leaving the BP station in Cambridge. We stopped in the street to wait for traffic to clear and I couldn't get my shoes out of the pedal clips and down I went, right in the middle of the street. I fell again later in the day, but that was the extent of falling for me on this trip. I was uninjured, but my pride took a bit of a hit.

As we traveled west, we met some very nice people. One in particular was a woman in the Casey's in Reynolds. It was a warm day and she came out to get our bottles to fill with ice and water. She said, "I take care of my bikers." Also, in Sherrard they gave us water and mentioned that it was good "well water." It did taste good! In Muscatine, a nice man at the Salvation Army Thrift store gave us perfect directions to our hotel. All of these people, and others, went out of their way and this day left both of us rejuvinated in the belief that there are good people out there. It is so easy to get caught up in the snap judgements and selfishness of ourselves and others that we begin to lose focus of our relationship with others. The technology that has made communication with others "easy," leave us to interpret or rather misinterpret meaning behind the communication. We forget that we are amongst human beings who live for response, feedback, acceptance. Today, we saw the smiles; we experienced the kind actions; we caught the subtle sarcasm and humor; we rode away into the west with a sense of small town America.

I know physically and mentally, as we pulled in to the Super 8 in Muscatine, I was telling myself that I did not have too many days in me facing the wind. If tomorrow was like today, it would be a much shorter trip than we had planned. We cleaned up, got a good dinner at Applebees and got some sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow, my muscles and mind would be rested.