Traveling Grouch

I have been remiss in keeping up the blog. I would like to say it is because of the many amazing things happening in my life recently but actually things have been pretty darn ordinary around here. I had my last for sure for real forever visit to the knee doctor on Friday. First he got my self esteem pumped up by commenting on my Arnold-like crushing grip when we shook hands. "Wow! What do you do for a living? That is some grip!" I modestly commented that I am just a paper pushin' manager and perhaps it is all of the computer mouse manipulation that has built up the grip. Moving on from there his next question was "So, retiring soon?" which deflated my self esteem like an inner tube rolled over thumbtacks. I guess the gray hair does add 10 years to my looks. He told me that the tendinitis is gone, my left leg is smaller in diameter than the right so work that leg! and quit going to physical therapy. I was going to stop going anyway but I feel guilty about not going back to them. They asked in a plaintive tone when I was there last if I thought I would keep coming to see them. Things are slow you know and customers aren't coming like before. Great, now I have more people to worry about!

I did a quick trip to Atlanta on Monday. There and back the same day to interview a person for an open job in my department. When I got to LAX the security line looked like the queue for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. It was at least an hour long. People were starting to get frantic because they were going to miss their flight. I was thinking the same thing. Then, someone from the airport pointed out that at the far end of the terminal was another entrance to security that had no line and no wait. Me and about 10 other people bolted out of line and headed there. The amazing thing to me was that no one else moved! Despite the fact that their line was at a standstill they could not give up the security of the line to try something else even when there was little hope where they stood. I have read about this behavior in survival situations such as sinking ships and burning buildings but this was the first time I have seen it in person.

The Atlanta airport was chock full of service members in their field uniforms coming and going from overseas. Most appeared to be just north of high school. It was humbling to see these soldiers with their combat patches indicating a tour in-theater. Kurt was one of these guys a year ago. Just to show me that life goes on a young Joe with a smile of his face was walking in step with a (cute) female marine lance-corporal giving her his full attention. They were having a one hour romance before both went to their separate flights.

I remember during the Vietnam war the hordes of service members on leave who swarmed the toll booth areas on the PA turnpike bumming rides home or back to their duty stations. People would pick them up and get them further along the way to their destination. My friends and I picked up a sailor complete with duffel bag. We were in a VW bug. Believe me 3 teenagers, a large sailor and a duffel bag do not fit well in a VW bug. His eyes got a little big when one of my buddies opened the glove box and a revolver fell out. We told him it wasn't loaded.

Cell phone conversation overheard on the plane while waiting to get off: "Oh wow! Oh man I bet that hurt! My dad used a drill bit on me once. That really hurt! How are you now?" I had visions of the scene from Marathon Man where the crazed Nazi uses the dental drill of Dustin Hoffman....Yikes! What kind of father uses drill bits on his children?

Lastly, I heard the results of the Gallup poll I participated in last week. 40% of people in the U.S. describe themselves as conservative. That was me!

That's all folks!