Thoughts From the Road

My most recent weekend stretched out quite a bit. I went to Indy, ostensibly to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. While I was there, I decided to celebrate my 31st birthday as well. I drank in Chicago, grilled out in Indy, played golf in Bloomington, visited high school friends in Zionsville, played golf in Indy, assembled furniture, and even read the new Harry Potter book. It was a pretty full five days. Here are a few things I noticed while I was there:

• One can see a wide variety of people at the midnight release of the Harry Potter book. Every teenager in the world was there, from the cool kids to the geeks. A lot of parents took their 8 - 13 year-olds to get the new book. Some of the kids wore robes and uniforms and such. The place was a zoo, but the people watching was phenomenal. The prize of the night, though, had to go to the adults who dressed in full costume. At least the stormtrooper costumes they wear to the premiers of Star Wars movies hide their faces. They might have been the ugliest people I've ever seen.
  
• The roads in Indiana are incredibly straight and flat. This isn't really news, but it was the first time I'd done much driving there in quite a while. After spending a lot of time driving the East Coast (Virginia, in particular), it was impressive. While driving to Chicago, I wanted to set the cruise, tie a rope to the wheel and crawl in the back for a little nap. It seemed like it might work.
• Cell phones are pretty sweet. How did we ever meet up with people before we had them? I think we actually had to plan to be in a certain place at a certain time. It's nice to just park the car and start walking and have the people you're meeting vector you in.
• A friend you haven't seen in a while runs up to you with a big smile on her face and jumps to give you a big hug. There's nothing quite like it, really. Of course, she might be more inclined to do so when she's drunk and it's your birthday, but it's pretty cool anyway.
• I never thought a person could seem much younger and much older than his actual age at the same time. But my dad does.
  
• Hanging with old friends can be like putting on your favorite pair of shoes. You don't have to cram your foot in or worry about blisters or discomfort. They just fit.
• Golf in the Heartland is just as fun as anywhere else.
• My favorite exchange from the weekend:
  

  Mama Abs [after getting up from dinner to answer the phone] God damn! That was a fundraiser. I can't believe they called on Sunday.
  Larry [from in the dining room]: Who was it?
  Mama Abs: The Leukemia society.
  Larry: Tell 'em we already have cancer. We don't want any of that Leukemia shit.