Countless times after I'd moved to Alaska, and in earlier years whenever I traveled, people have asked me where I am from. When I replied "New York" people have always assumed that I mean the city. They often following by telling me either that they love New York City or that they've never been to New York City but that they suspect they'd love it. Historically I have not loved New York City. In all of my visits the primary impressions that the city had made on me were: this place smells like garbage; people in NYC are a bunch of grumps; NYC feels like a huge shopping mall, which is bad. Other than the navigational ease provided by the City's grid structure I'd never been too impressed with NYC. Often when confronted with a conversation about New York I would say in a derisive tone "New York is alright, but I much prefer Boston, or Toronto, or even Montreal. They smell better, and the people aren't as arrogant". Probably I was also a little resentful of all of the attention that the City gets while Upstate seems not to exist for most people. I can recall times when I've explained that I wasn't from the City, that I was from Upstate, and to the questioner this meant I was from Poughkeepsie.
Now though, after just over a week in the City, I'm willing to ignore those complaints and to apologize for my earlier scorn. New York City is beautiful, both as a collection of huge buildings and as a huge collection of people. I'm leaving the City tomorrow for a brief visit to Upstate, but I'm looking forward to coming back.
The New York Public Library is incredible. It's big and old and beautiful. Just being inside it made me feel proud to be participating in such a valuable, important social institution, even if my participation these days is solely on the borrowing end.
18 October 2007
04 October 2007
it's not the heat, it's the spiders
Since Friday we've been in Benton, Louisianna. It's hot here, and humid. Whoever you are, it definitely is hot enough for you. I'll go to sleep hot and a few hours later wake completely soaked with sweat and stuck to the floor of the tent. Also, there are bugs. Our natural pests in Alaska are mosquitos, bears, and an occasional upset moose. Here there are also mosquitos, but they're not the only chitinous nuisance. There are terrifying spiders with big, black, almond shaped bodies covered with neon markings and with legs several inches long. One of these monsters had spun its web over the front-passenger wheelwell on the bus we've been camping at and sleeping in. On Sunday I watched as it wrapped a big, hapless beetle in web and then sat there beside it's cocoon-ed meal. From here, with the relative safety of electric lights and doors that latch shut, I imagine that it was waiting for the web covered beetle to become usable food, but then, as I crouched a few feet away and watched the now unmoving spider, I felt like it I was being stared down. The spider, I imagined, had sized me up and recognized that I was too big for him to really make us of, it would have taken her days to cover me in enough web to fully immobilize me, but she knew also that she had the upper hand. I was definitely more afraid of her, though she was roughly 1/2240th my weight, than she was of me. As of today she's gone. At first I was happy to be able to enter the bus without having to pass by her many watchful eyes, but I quickly realized that I was safer knowing where she was, and that now she could be anywhere. It's been a long day of slowly, timidly handling any object large enough to hide a spider.
Spiders aren't all though, there are also ants. They're not like those friendly ants of the north who want only to help you clean up those crumbs that seem always to litter the floor in whichever room you've last eaten. These ants are much smaller, and much less benign. They'll fearlessly crawl over you, which is annoying and itchy in and of itself - it feels like they're wearing tiny, ant-sized golf shoes, and when allowed to crawl long enough they begin to bite. Their bites sting me like a fresh mosquito bite but leave no marks on my skin. Ben, however, has red marks all over his legs that look like sombody has been pinching little bits of flesh off of his legs using razor sharp tweezers. These, he says, are from the ants. I think he's contracted something. He looks leperous.
We also saw moths the size of hummingbirds.
Hold on, here's some background on the aforementioned bus: it belongs to Ben and is full of old junk from when he and four other Anchoragians spent 6 months in 2002 driving it around the continent. For the last 5 years it's been parked in a field behind a house on land owned by the family of one of the other 4 traveling Alaskans.
We've been camping at the bus while Ben sorts through the piles of old magazines, instruments, underpants, and 16-lb cans of beans. Well, I've been camping, Ben's been sleeping inside the bus and getting torn apart by insects. Mike, Nola, and Gabriel, the folks that live in the house behind which the bus has been hidden, have been wonderful to us. They've been helpful and generous to us, sharing meals with us and taking us into Shreveport multiple times to run our big-city errands. I'm typing this at their computer, while my laundry drys in their dryer. They've really gone out of there way to treat us like family. Dang. I've been lucky.
Spiders aren't all though, there are also ants. They're not like those friendly ants of the north who want only to help you clean up those crumbs that seem always to litter the floor in whichever room you've last eaten. These ants are much smaller, and much less benign. They'll fearlessly crawl over you, which is annoying and itchy in and of itself - it feels like they're wearing tiny, ant-sized golf shoes, and when allowed to crawl long enough they begin to bite. Their bites sting me like a fresh mosquito bite but leave no marks on my skin. Ben, however, has red marks all over his legs that look like sombody has been pinching little bits of flesh off of his legs using razor sharp tweezers. These, he says, are from the ants. I think he's contracted something. He looks leperous.
We also saw moths the size of hummingbirds.
Hold on, here's some background on the aforementioned bus: it belongs to Ben and is full of old junk from when he and four other Anchoragians spent 6 months in 2002 driving it around the continent. For the last 5 years it's been parked in a field behind a house on land owned by the family of one of the other 4 traveling Alaskans.
We've been camping at the bus while Ben sorts through the piles of old magazines, instruments, underpants, and 16-lb cans of beans. Well, I've been camping, Ben's been sleeping inside the bus and getting torn apart by insects. Mike, Nola, and Gabriel, the folks that live in the house behind which the bus has been hidden, have been wonderful to us. They've been helpful and generous to us, sharing meals with us and taking us into Shreveport multiple times to run our big-city errands. I'm typing this at their computer, while my laundry drys in their dryer. They've really gone out of there way to treat us like family. Dang. I've been lucky.
27 September 2007
on the road again, again
We're in Little Rock, Ar. It's good. There's an excellent concrete skatepark that's open until midnight and those local kids I've met there have been super friendly and inclusive, which is, in my experience, somewhat unusual in the skateboarding world. We've also met some locals that have started a bike co-op and who are advocates of unused food redistribution, which means that they dumpster dive, and who very generously shared with us a few loaves of bread and some slightly bruised but still delicious produce. Later tonight we're joining their crew for an group bike ride. Excellent people are everywhere. If I didn't already miss taking classes I'd say that I never want to have a home base again.
That said, we're planning on leaving tomorrow and heading towards Shreveport.
That said, we're planning on leaving tomorrow and heading towards Shreveport.
17 September 2007
images
I've added a link titled "pictures", on the left side of the page under the heading "things or people of interest", that leads to a gallery of pictures from the trip. All the photos were shot by Ben and Kayla on their fancy digital photo-machines. If you've thought to yourself, or said to me, something like "boy, he's (you're) inarticulate. I have no idea what his (you're) trip has been like", these images should give a decent approximation of what the trip has been like for Ben and Kayla. My trip has been similar to theirs, but I tend not to stare at either of them as often as they stare at each other and so my set of photo-subjects would be different.
I really should have thought to post this link before tonight.
I really should have thought to post this link before tonight.
16 September 2007
ch-ch-ch-changes.....
"Hey, look, you're different."
A friend of mine once said that to his wife after she'd changed clothes mid-conversation, and I today, while thinking of the next leg of the bike trip, my thoughts echoed that sentiment. Rather than riding northwest from Portland and then south down the coast we've decided to skip the coast and ride straight south. From here the coast seems too far. We're in Chicago now.
Last week, while browsing Amtrak fares from Seattle to Olympia I found tickets from Portland to Chicago for almost nothing. Ben and I were excited to make this impulsive change but were a little disappointed to give up the west coast leg of the trip. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes we decided to ask Kayla, without telling her that it was entirely her decision, how she would like to visit Chicago. She was excited to go and so, after a few days in Portland seeing old friends and eating doughnuts, we boarded a train heading east.
Kayla's cousin, Sarah, has been putting us up in Chicago. She has an apartment with two extra bedrooms and has been a super accommodating host and has provided excellent directions around the city. Chicago seems like a really great city. I'd spent some time here before, almost 14 hours, but then I'd spent the entire time walking and appreciating the sights of a real city (sorry Anchorage!) and enjoying it, but not enough to delay my departure. This time, riding my bike around the city, I'm feeling those stomach butterflies and jaw-ache inducing smiles that hint at love. That's right, I said it, I love Chicago. I've never been in a city that so successfully integrates bicycles into traffic as a realistic transportation option. Did you hear that, Portlanders? Chicago is more bike-friendly than Portland and Chicago is more bike-friendly than Seattle and Chicago is a beautiful city on a beautiful lake (but not as beautiful as Lake Ontario). Love is fleeting though, and we'll ride out in day or two.
Wait! "We'll ride out...." means something different now. It used to mean something like "Ben, Kayla, and I....", but now it means "Ben and I....". Kayla is staying in Chicago. I certainly can't blame her. If I weren't so cynical and distrusting of love I would stay here as well. [a joke!] On the upside, now we have a floor to sleep on in Chicago. Kayla, I'll miss you, and I'll be slightly envious of you for a while, buy once my Chicago love-buzz wears off I'll wonder how you could give up life on the road for life in a house.
It's getting to be cold at night and so I've been bundling up. Since we're staying indoors at Sarah/Kayla's apartment this bundling has been mostly for practice and often I'll wake up fully bundled and drenched in sweat. When we're outside though, through the chilly midwestern autumn, I'll be ready.
A friend of mine once said that to his wife after she'd changed clothes mid-conversation, and I today, while thinking of the next leg of the bike trip, my thoughts echoed that sentiment. Rather than riding northwest from Portland and then south down the coast we've decided to skip the coast and ride straight south. From here the coast seems too far. We're in Chicago now.
Last week, while browsing Amtrak fares from Seattle to Olympia I found tickets from Portland to Chicago for almost nothing. Ben and I were excited to make this impulsive change but were a little disappointed to give up the west coast leg of the trip. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes we decided to ask Kayla, without telling her that it was entirely her decision, how she would like to visit Chicago. She was excited to go and so, after a few days in Portland seeing old friends and eating doughnuts, we boarded a train heading east.
Kayla's cousin, Sarah, has been putting us up in Chicago. She has an apartment with two extra bedrooms and has been a super accommodating host and has provided excellent directions around the city. Chicago seems like a really great city. I'd spent some time here before, almost 14 hours, but then I'd spent the entire time walking and appreciating the sights of a real city (sorry Anchorage!) and enjoying it, but not enough to delay my departure. This time, riding my bike around the city, I'm feeling those stomach butterflies and jaw-ache inducing smiles that hint at love. That's right, I said it, I love Chicago. I've never been in a city that so successfully integrates bicycles into traffic as a realistic transportation option. Did you hear that, Portlanders? Chicago is more bike-friendly than Portland and Chicago is more bike-friendly than Seattle and Chicago is a beautiful city on a beautiful lake (but not as beautiful as Lake Ontario). Love is fleeting though, and we'll ride out in day or two.
Wait! "We'll ride out...." means something different now. It used to mean something like "Ben, Kayla, and I....", but now it means "Ben and I....". Kayla is staying in Chicago. I certainly can't blame her. If I weren't so cynical and distrusting of love I would stay here as well. [a joke!] On the upside, now we have a floor to sleep on in Chicago. Kayla, I'll miss you, and I'll be slightly envious of you for a while, buy once my Chicago love-buzz wears off I'll wonder how you could give up life on the road for life in a house.
It's getting to be cold at night and so I've been bundling up. Since we're staying indoors at Sarah/Kayla's apartment this bundling has been mostly for practice and often I'll wake up fully bundled and drenched in sweat. When we're outside though, through the chilly midwestern autumn, I'll be ready.
09 September 2007
seattle, but then.....
I've mentioned before that Seattle is fun, and in my experience it continues to be so. Ben and I spent Wednesday walking around town looking for certain bike pieces and trip supplies that I'm still trying to replace: 1 bottle cage, 1 front-rack, 1 handlebar bag, 2 waterproof front-panniers, 1 sleeping pad, and 1 pair long underpants. We found nothing useful at reasonable prices, but that evening we found a comedy club with 5 comics lined up for a $5.00 cover. It wasn't exactly a bargain, but it was worth what we paid. There were some genuinely funny lines, but even these were weakened by their references bowl cuts, clown cars, and homophobia - cheap fodder for easy laughs. Using Craigslist we found a ride to Olympia on Thursday afternoon, and before the sun was setting we had unexpectedly bumped into a friend from Seward, AK, and were eating dinner with Katie and Eamon.
We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning with Katie and Eamon, together when possible, and separately while one or the other was at work. Friday was spent mostly wandering and drinking coffee, and eventually culminated with thick, delicious milkshakes that, even combining our efforts, proved too much milkshake to be finished. I'd never been beaten by a milkshake before, it has never even been close, but I don't regret losing. It was humbling to leave the half-full metal mixing cup there on the table, and I believe that humility is a good thing. Saturday we had the opportunity to join the Olympia Gleaners Coalition for a trip to a local organic farm. The Gleaners are a volunteer run organization that visits farms after growers have picked what they'll take to the market to sell, and picks whatever usable produce is left. Volunteers are welcome to take what they like, and the rest is given to the local foodbank. In exchange for this opportunity, the volunteers generally help with farm work or provide manual labor for a few hours. We helped spread mulched tree-bark over a small field of blueberry bushes in exchange for the opportunity to pick vegetables, fruits, and edible flowers. Knowing that we were leaving the next morning Ben and I didn't take much produce, but what we did take, mostly cherry tomatoes and some flowers that tasted like mustard, were delicious.
Katie and Eamon, by the way, seem to be an excellent match. If you see them before I do send them my thanks, and a hug. You may not know if I've seen them first, so just go ahead with the hug and thanks.
It's Sunday night now and we're in Portland staying with Ben's sister Krista and her husband Jeremy. They've been good to us so far. Jeremy was kind enough to share his graphic novels with me and for a while I was happily engrossed in the goings on in Gotham and Metropolis.
Have you ever had an impossible time trying to find a particular book? I'm going through that now. If I find what I'm looking for I'll let you know.
We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning with Katie and Eamon, together when possible, and separately while one or the other was at work. Friday was spent mostly wandering and drinking coffee, and eventually culminated with thick, delicious milkshakes that, even combining our efforts, proved too much milkshake to be finished. I'd never been beaten by a milkshake before, it has never even been close, but I don't regret losing. It was humbling to leave the half-full metal mixing cup there on the table, and I believe that humility is a good thing. Saturday we had the opportunity to join the Olympia Gleaners Coalition for a trip to a local organic farm. The Gleaners are a volunteer run organization that visits farms after growers have picked what they'll take to the market to sell, and picks whatever usable produce is left. Volunteers are welcome to take what they like, and the rest is given to the local foodbank. In exchange for this opportunity, the volunteers generally help with farm work or provide manual labor for a few hours. We helped spread mulched tree-bark over a small field of blueberry bushes in exchange for the opportunity to pick vegetables, fruits, and edible flowers. Knowing that we were leaving the next morning Ben and I didn't take much produce, but what we did take, mostly cherry tomatoes and some flowers that tasted like mustard, were delicious.
Katie and Eamon, by the way, seem to be an excellent match. If you see them before I do send them my thanks, and a hug. You may not know if I've seen them first, so just go ahead with the hug and thanks.
It's Sunday night now and we're in Portland staying with Ben's sister Krista and her husband Jeremy. They've been good to us so far. Jeremy was kind enough to share his graphic novels with me and for a while I was happily engrossed in the goings on in Gotham and Metropolis.
Have you ever had an impossible time trying to find a particular book? I'm going through that now. If I find what I'm looking for I'll let you know.
05 September 2007
on the road again, kind of...
After much waiting, resting, healing, swimming, splashing, hugging, and flying, I am back in the west and am ready to start riding again. CNY was wonderful, as it seems always to be when I no longer live there. While back east I was able to visit Spencer in Boston, swim in the Atlantic a handful of times, swim in Lake Ontario a handful of a handful of times, ride my skateboard at my favorite old spots, find a few new favorite spots, and see all the friends and family that still live in the area. Everybody: it was great seeing you, I miss you already.
My plane flew into Seattle during a raging thunderstorm turned into a light drizzle the instant that I left the airport. I've spent the last two days wandering around Seattle looking at used bikes and talking to strangers. It's been fun so far. Last night I made new friends that share an appreciation for Ms. Pacman, which 3 days before I had declared to be my favorite video game, and with whom I spent the late night and early morning hours talking about typefaces, wigs, and the classic synthesized robot and alien voices found on cheap electronic toys. Who remembers the Buzz Lightyear megaphone? Can I see a show of hands? Of course I can't.
Greyhound still hasn't found my bike, the scoundrels, and they don't seem much closer to paying me its declared value. I've purchase what I expect will be a suitable replacement. It's a Centurion Pro Tour 15, a lugged, steel frame mass produced in Japan in the early 80's. The tubing is a proprietary Tange tubing comparable to Columbus or Reynolds. I think the frame will function just fine, and it looks pretty steezin' if you ask me. If ever I get a picture of it I'll be sure to post it. The components are all shimano 105 and so, if you believe conventional wisdom, are pretty nice. Unfortunately we're still waiting on conclusive results concerning whether or not conventional wisdom can be trusted as a source of knowledge. Preliminary findings suggest otherwise.
Bye.
My plane flew into Seattle during a raging thunderstorm turned into a light drizzle the instant that I left the airport. I've spent the last two days wandering around Seattle looking at used bikes and talking to strangers. It's been fun so far. Last night I made new friends that share an appreciation for Ms. Pacman, which 3 days before I had declared to be my favorite video game, and with whom I spent the late night and early morning hours talking about typefaces, wigs, and the classic synthesized robot and alien voices found on cheap electronic toys. Who remembers the Buzz Lightyear megaphone? Can I see a show of hands? Of course I can't.
Greyhound still hasn't found my bike, the scoundrels, and they don't seem much closer to paying me its declared value. I've purchase what I expect will be a suitable replacement. It's a Centurion Pro Tour 15, a lugged, steel frame mass produced in Japan in the early 80's. The tubing is a proprietary Tange tubing comparable to Columbus or Reynolds. I think the frame will function just fine, and it looks pretty steezin' if you ask me. If ever I get a picture of it I'll be sure to post it. The components are all shimano 105 and so, if you believe conventional wisdom, are pretty nice. Unfortunately we're still waiting on conclusive results concerning whether or not conventional wisdom can be trusted as a source of knowledge. Preliminary findings suggest otherwise.
Bye.
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