Trip Notes

I am enjoying the difference in scenery. Everywhere I look things are different, from the trees, to the terrain, to the people and buildings. This is all welcome to me. I enjoy “different” especially when I know I will soon return to my world. It is funny though. The only conversations I struck up outside our group of three couples were with some folks from Mobile, Alabama and some other people from Louisiana.



The weather has been fantastic. Clean, cool, crisp October mountain air enters my lungs like balm. There must be healing properties affixed to this air as well as it feels to my lungs. It invigorates and enlivens the body and soul. The smell of the East Tennessee loam reminds me of Octobers past from my childhood living in the Midwest.



Leaves are changing. Bright reds, oranges, yellows, and golds against the brilliant blue October sky create breathtaking images I hope my mind will hold forever. Mountains are tree covered and each one is a different color creating extra depth and beauty.



Cornstalks and scarecrows with pumpkins and fall flowers decorate many fence lines and store fronts. I am drinking it in like a healing elixir. I feel fortunate for every sense with which to enjoy this cacophony of beautiful and pleasant stimuli.

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Hotels: Hotels are our home away from home when we are away from home. We are staying in a lodge / hotel. It is rustic which is marketing speak for “not having the amenities of a regular hotel.” The implied trade off is that the area is so nice; you won’t notice us cutting corners on a few things. For instance, the ice machine is not available to the lodge guests. One must take their small ice bucket to the desk and if someone is there they will fill it half way fro you. We discovered they would sell a bag for a buck so problem solved.



One other observation has to do with the shower. I first noticed the shower head looking different when I first stood before it vulnerable as the day I was born. The streamlined look must have had something to do with its force, because this stream was intense. I am talking car wash grade pressure. I would guess this shower head could easily be certified for bug and tar removal. The noise was deafening from the beads of water pounding on my skull. What the heck, a body needs a good pressure washing every now and then.



These observations are meant more to be funny than to be taken as serious complaints. Minor inconveniences I know will disappear when I leave are more amusing than they are aggravating.

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More to come, stay tuned. I finally have access to a phone line.



Until the next time

John Strain

Are We There Yet?

“Are we there yet?” Parents have dealt with this mantra of impatience since the advent of family trips. Today we traveled by car from Covington, LA to Cleveland, TN. Tomorrow we will arrive at our final destination “The “Wonderland Lodge” which is near Pigeon Forge. Today’s trip was 500 miles which gave Barb and I lots of time to talk with our other friends also traveling with us. We compared notes about our own family trips.



I remember being awakened before dawn and loaded in the back of our black dodge station wagon. I resumed my night’s sleep on blankets behind the back seat. The sound of the engine and road was a gentle lullaby. My parents believed in “making time.” There was a drive to get to the destination as quickly as possible. No stopping unless it was absolutely necessary. My mom was organized. When it came time to stop for gas she would coach us, “OK, go straight to the rest room and get back to the car, we have to get back on the road.” We did not stop for food, she had sandwiches prepared ahead of time. I am not complaining. That is how we did it. I did not know anything different.



We played games in the car to pass the time. My favorite was 20 Questions. “Is it bigger than a bread box?”. Wind from the windows down blew maps around the car and. voices had to be raised to be heard.. No AC in those days. Those are fond memories of days gone by.



Barbara’s parents were almost opposite. They left mid morning. If they saw an attraction of interest they stopped. No rush at all. So much so, Barbara said it drove her crazy. She wondered if they would ever arrive at their destination.



It was a good day driving. The weather was good, the scenery was pretty, and the company was enjoyable. Vacation does not start when we arrive at our destination – it started when we pulled out of the driveway.



Until the next time

John Strain



I hope to keep posting, however, the lodge where we will be staying Friday and Saturday does not have phones in the rooms. Hopefully the proprietors will allow me a few minutes to upload a story on the business phone.

The Phone Company

I remember when phone numbers were alpha and numeric. Growing up my phone number was ME-1-5842. ME stood for Melrose. Our phone was between the kitchen and dining room. It was black and had a rotary dial made of metal. Dialing that phone required a strong finger. No phone jacks either, the phone man had to come to the house and wire it for you. I do not think we got our second phone until my sister got one in her room. She was 16 and - - well you know about 16 year old girls and telephones. The year was 1970. Becky's new phone was a light blue princess phone.



Long distance calls were only to tell other family members someone died or is about to die. Communication was normally through letters. One did not squander money talking long distance. You could always tell if someone was talking long distance because they would talk louder. Sure the quality of the calls made it somewhat necessary, but it was also psychological. One must talk louder because they are farther away. One required subject when talking long distance is the weather. "Is it raining down there?. . it is here." Never mind the distance is 1500 miles. One automatically assumed that if they could hear the other person in real time then the person on the other end of the phone must be experiencing the same thing as on this end. Time zones were barely comprehendible. "You say the sun is shining out there. It's dark as can be here. Are you sure the sun is shining where you are?"



There were no calling cards back then either. The operator helped you call long distance from a pay phone. It was easiest to call collect otherwise you needed a pocket full of change.



Fast forward to today. We have four phones in the house, with call waiting, caller ID, voice mail, and lord knows what. We have three cell phones and two beepers. I have DSL through the phone company. All of this costs from $200 to $250 a month. Sure communication is better, quicker, blah, blah, blah, but do we have to communicate so much?



Riding back from Subway the other evening with my son, his cell phone rang. One of his friends called from our house wanting to know when we would be home. We were a block from the house at the time. I am not advocating the Amish lifestyle, but I would bet 75% of cell phone calls are unnecessary.



I am not condemning cell phones and technology - I love it all. I am, however, a bit concerned about how an over dependence on certain conveniences stunts people's ability to problem solve. I can remember in high school, all of the contingency plans we used to set up to ensure the group made it from point A to point B. I remember driving around looking for a pay phone. I remember getting separated from the group. Cell phones would have solved a lot of problems, but I would not be as good a problem solver today.



This morning I am leaving on a little trip to Tennessee to see the fall colors. I am taking my cell phone. I hope I do not have to use it or the roaming charges will kill me.



I borrowed a laptop computer from my good friend Linda so I hope to keep posting while on vacation. I am due back home on Monday. That means my son can party down with his parents gone. What the hell? I am looking forward to the trip and I will take lots of pictures. You can bet you will be reading about my adventures in Tennessee in the near future.



Until the next time

John Strain

Hormones

When I woke up this morning I felt strange. I had never felt like this before. "What am I coming down with?" I thought to myself. The feelings are hard to describe but I will try. I felt a little weak and dizzy. I was sad, almost depressed. I just felt yuck. "Maybe if I lie here another few minutes I will feel better," I thought, so I stayed in bed hoping that would happen. I could not stay in bed though, there was work and a million responsibilities waiting for me out there. I was feeling sorry for myself now, "why do so many people depend on me?" "Why can't they take care of their own problems?" I felt like crying. I was feeling trapped and overwhelmed. My life seemed one endless obligation and I could see no end to it. Then I started feeling guilty for having those thoughts. "I shouldn't be feeling this way," I told myself. I was right too, I had a nice family and a job that pays the bills. I have a good wife and she loves me - last night's activity under the sheets should prove that. I had never been this emotional. They seemed beyond my control. These emotions were more intense and came in waves of overwhelming feelings of, guilt, sadness, fear, anger, and some feelings I still do not understand.



My wife could tell I was not right. "What's wrong dear?" She asked very concerned. I guess she sensed there was something wrong. "I don't know," I told her. "I just feel sad and angry and afraid and guilty, but I shouldn't." My voice cracked as I was no longer able to hold back the tears. I pulled myself back together quickly, even more alarmed and worried about my state of mind, body, and spirit. "I must be losing my mind." I thought, "So this is what it's like."



I had to do something, so I forced myself out of bed and got into the shower. The water felt so good. I became overwhelmed with gratitude and almost cried again. I did not even soap up, I just stood there enjoying the warm feeling of the water on my skin. Besides I did not have the energy to lather up a wash cloth, move it around my body and rinse off. All of that seemed like an impossible task at that time. Once out of the shower I was drying myself when my wife walked in the bathroom to check on me. "How are you feeling now, honey?" She said in a very understanding voice. Then she said, "what's that on your back?" Evidently she spotted something wrong with my back. My level of fear shot up and I felt like crying again. What awful thing could it be? I did not want to know. Then she exclaimed in a loud voice, "Oh my god!" My wife began to laugh, then she really laughed, she lost all ability to speak due to the laughing. I kept asking her, "What is it? What did you see? What is so funny?" Still laughing she reached behind me and pulled a thin adhesive disk off of my back., then she said through continuing chuckles and cackles, "Somehow -HaHa- my hormone patch -HoHo- got stuck on your back -HeHe." Hearing her own words sent her back for one more lap around the laugh track.



The realization began to sink in on me like the estrogen had been doing for the past few hours. Evidently when my wife and I engaged in the physical activity last night, her hormone patch came off of her and ended up stuck to my back. My body was absorbing female hormones and when I woke up I found myself in a real life Goodbye Charlie movie.



"Now you know how I feel," she said still laughing. I, on the other hand, was just feeling relieved to know all of this would wear off. I did gain some respect for what women have to go through with all of this hormone stuff. Hopefully, it will be much longer than 28 days before I ever feel like that again.

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This story is true, but it did not happen to me. It happened to a friend of mine. I figured it would read funnier if I put myself in it. I do not know if Jerry (not his real name) had all of the feelings I mentioned, but he had some of them. The part about respecting what women have to go through is also true. My hat is off to you ladies. You have all manner of bad feelings but forge ahead regardless. Ya'll have my respect. So here's to you and to brighten your day just a bit, Click Here.



Until the next time

John Strain

I've Looked Death in the Face

True to my normal routine, when I arrived home after work I flipped on the news. The reporter was talking about a woman. "Betty never dreamed she would be taking swimming lessons a few years ago. . ." The video was showing Betty having fun in a swimming class. The reporter continued, "Betty was much too reserved to enter a race dressed as the Tooth Fairy." Yet, there was Betty walking in a race with a sheer pink skirt and a sparkly tiara. She was laughing and having a good time. What was responsible for this outgoing and fun loving behavior? "I stared death in the face twice," she said.



Betty is a breast cancer survivor. At 38, this dental hygienist and mother of 2 young children was diagnosed with breast cancer. "My little boy asked me if I was going to live," she said, "that was one of the hardest things." Throughout the interview, Betty exuded happiness and a love for life. She was bubbly and effervescent.



The reporter began to detail Betty's ordeal. She had one mastectomy, but the cancer came back a year or two later. She had to have another mastectomy. Since then though she has been cancer free. "It is always in your mind," she said "sometimes I have an ache or pain and think - oh know, it's in my bones."



Betty talked about living life now and not being so inhibited. "I have faced death - so what is there to fear?"



Good for you Betty! It is a wonderful human ability and divine gift to take something like death and use it for motivation to live life more fully.



We can all learn from Betty.



Breast Cancer Information



Until the next time

John Strain