MISCONCEPTION: Ryan Boudinot

The title pretty well describes this book, a retrospective of the teenage years of one Cedar Rivres, his falling in love with the curious Kat, there meeting twenty years later, in an upstate New York hotel, because Kat has written a story/memoir of those couple of years and wants Cedar to sign off on it. Cedar first attracts Kat's attention when, during biology class, he brings in his own sperm for viewing under the microscope. This begins their relationship, fast and hard and sexual, until they find out that Kat is pregnant. This begins the conflict, between the two, the misconception, as Cedar things the step father to be did it, and Kat's decision to end their relationship. During all of this, Cedar's parents divorce, we learn the story of Kat's mother's life, her marriage, to Kat's father, Jerry, a septic tank cleaner, and the relative security and boredom of George, her husband to be. As we move towards this marriage, between George, who Cedar thinks impregnated Kat, and Kat's mother, the righteous,dangerous misconception grows, as Cedar tells Kat's father Jerry, who arrives at the wedding reception and shoots both George and himself. The novel ends with the two forty year olds saying goodby, without hooking up, not sure of what happened twenty years ago, but perhaps much wiser now that they have thought back over the events that led to these two terrible deaths, the end of their relationship, the wrong that we often do to those we love for reasons with ultimately cannot fathom until it's too late. An interesting book, easy enough to read, as I wanted to come back to it, and it has some of the agonies of youth, emotional, physcial, and sexual. It certainly makes us aware of the truth of unintended consequences, a result of jealousy, unrequited love, and poor judgment.

BUMP & RUN: Mike Lupica

I am not sure why I picked this up, other than I had not been reading much since returning from our trip West and I didn't something easy and fun to get back on the track. This was easy and fun, though not much else. It follows a year in the life of Jack Malloy, a Vegas roustabout who inherits the New York Hawks, when his father, the inestimatiable Jack Mallow dies. Of course, father and son have not talked to each other in years, and his sister and brother hate him because his father gives the prodigal son the team, not them. He's a jock, who broke his father's heart when he went West to play college ball, rather than Notre Dame. He gets injured his sophomore year in a dubious play by the quarterback, Bubba Royal, who incidnetally just happens to quarterback Jack's Hawks. Lupica is pretty good at describing the pampered mostly black footballers of today, though a bit exaggerated. Jack must fight to get the owners to let him in the league, as his team vies for the super bowl trophy, which they win, of course. He sets up the born again Christian owner who stands in his way, with, what else, a hot little black chick. Even the born again boys cannot keep it in their pants. During the year, we see Jack, his team, and his players live a life few of us lead or want, filled with booze, lots of naked, horny ladies, all kinds of sex, drugs, and of course, on Sundays, there is football. A quick read, funny, often right on if you are disgusted and enamored with pro ball. I did not want to like it but I kept going back so I could finish it.

Kansas City to Lake Chautauqua

Sunday, May 9th, Kansas City to Jamestown- 14.5 hours 925 miles
We were up by 5:30 in KC, off by 6:15, both of us tired, Evie especially as she has a terrible cough, either sinus or a cold. It was a bit cloudy and cool, as we left KC, with our new GPS leading the way. It seems like we pushed it a bit too much, though the weather was fine, the day partly sunny, the traffic decent as we pushed our way East. The GPS gave us different directions for Indianapolis, so we disregarded them and took the beltway around the city. I am not sure where it was sending us. There is not much to say…we just kept driving. Evie helped out driving though she shouldn’t have, as she had a terrible cough and did not feel well the entire trip, ending up having either bronchitis or pneumonia, after seeing the doctor on the Monday of our return. I felt renewed once we got near Cleveland and the last two or three hours was easy, as I did not seem that tired. We both were exhausted from the drive, and it took a few days to become ourselves, especially Evie who continues to fight her cough, and as I write this, a week after our drive, we are just starting to feel normal. We did bring a LED tv with us, set it up a couple of days ago, and it really makes a difference. I hope we don’t spend our retirement watching tv.

Nick's soccer

Saturday, April 8th: Kansas City

We began the day with Nicolas’s soccer game, in Overland Park, about 45 minutes away, where he plays most of his games, I think. It is an amazing soccer complex of around 15 fields, all being used by boys and girls, of various ages, obviously a soccer hotbed. Nick’s team lost 3-1, seemingly out manned by older, bigger kids. Nick is coached by an African, seemingly a pretty good coach, with a nice way with the kids. He has played professional soccer at some level, perhaps in Sweden Tommy said.

Lunch at Marlena's School and her Baseball Game

April 7th, Friday. Kansas City
I was up early, to know coffee, so off I went to Hardy’s and got cups for all of us. When Mary came down, she got it working, but we enjoyed it. Evie went off at 8:00 to a breakfast at Marlena’s school with Mary, returning around 9:00. Evie and I went shopping at 9:30, Evie to TJ Maxx, me to breakfast at Panera’s, then Dicks for socks, and Best Buy to look at a GPS. Evie bought some clothes for our weekend in Washington. We went to Marlena’s school for lunch, waiting out side her classroom until the kids lined up to go to the cafeteria. We sat with her and her classmates, which was fun, and the boys certainly seemed to pay lots of attention to her, as she is a cutie. I pity Tom and Mary when she gets older. We didn’t eat, just talked with the kids, and when they went to recess, we headed home. Evie came home and tried on her clothes, and those that did not fit, we took back to TJ”s, to get it out of the way. We also got a car wash.
It’s now almost 5:00 and we are waiting for Tom to come home to go out to eat before Marlena’s baseball game at 7:30. We are going to BW3’s before the game. The weather has been cooler than yesterday, in the low 60’s, lots of wind, though it is not raining, which is good since it was predicted to rain. The Cavs are on tonight as well, so we are taping it before we go off to Marlena’s game.

Colorado Springs to Lee's Summit

Thursday, May 6th, Colorado Springs to Lees Summit

Up at 4:30 again, Evie followed about 5:30 and we were off by 6:30. Halle was the only one up other than Drew who left about 5:30. She was quiet, so I covered her, and Evie put a show on, and we left about 6:30.
The ride out of town to Liman was pleasant, rolling hills peopled by ranches, and we passed through a couple of sad looking towns, on our 65 mile drive to Interstate 70
The ride through Colorado to Kansas took another couple of hours, as we could see as far as the horizon, the land was that flat. You drive through these amazing fields, wondering how they are ever cultivated, as they are so vast, with nothing around, except an exit, with lots of silos, perhaps a store or two, not much else. Occasionally, off in the distance, we glimpse a bank of trees and a small house in the middle of this vast field. As we get into Kansas the fiels seem greener, less for grazing, then for raising wheat. This is obviously the wheat belt of the world. At this point, the wheat is about six inches high, very green and thick. It’s strange how one side is green with growth, the other ready to be seeded, either with another crop or they put crops in at different times. Although the fiels are mostly wheat, we just did pass some cattle grazing, though this is the only group I have seen in the past hour.

Another sight are the large insect like sprinklers that are sitting off in the distant, on various fields, though I have yet to see any in use. The sprinklers have huge legs, on wheels, and hanging from the main bar are hoses with what looks like spray heads, so that they cover up to 100 yards of field as they move. I wonder where the water comes from, as it seems almost desert like except for the fields that are cultivated.
Something we noticed were occasional sheep farms, some buffaloes, but not many, and occasional cattle ranches. Once we got half way through Kansas, to Salinas and Eastward, Kansas became more green, more attractive and more populated. And the land was not quite as flat, with some gentle rolling hills, though not many trees, something really lacking in the Plains,
We ran into a bit of traffic in KC but arrived at Tom’s around 5:00. We kind of hung out, had some homemade soup and fresh bread for dinner, then went to Nick’s game at 8:30, after an earlier practice, so when we got home around 10:00, he was really tired though in good spirits because they had won. Evie made quesadillas for all three of us. We went to bed around 10:30 and were really tired.

Picking up Halle at Black Forest, Margaritas and fresh Tortillas

Wednesday, May 5th, Colorado Springs
Up early, as usual, though I was up at 4:30 and Evie had a really bad night as well. I am not sure why I am getting up so early, but at least I can take a nap if I like. We went and picked Halle up from her Black Forest School, and ended up going to the Black Forest Coffee shop. Halle got hot chocolate, while Evie and I split a black bean and vegetable soon which was wonderful, as was the cheese roll which was included. We ended up going into a small jewelery store next to the coffee shop and ended up buying a turquoise pottery tray for 50 bucks. It was fun for Halle and she and Evie worked with word tiles.
We did little during the afternoon, though I went out to get the car gassed and buy some groceries for our trip. Madison and Taylor came over for the afternoon and the girls played together in the playroom for most of the afternoon. We ended up having margaritas and carnitas for dinner, as Jill went off and got fresh tortillas. It made a great difference, as we stuffed them full of cabbage, avocados, meat and salsa. Drew got home fairly late, just in time for a margarita. Stacy stopped by about 5:30 and had a margarita, as Evie took all the kids outside and played Mother May I, as well as other games. We did not get finished with dinner until 8:00, though Hayden did not have school the next day. I told both girls a bad boy story, and they went to bed right away. Both Evie and I were really tired, from packing and getting up early, so we went to bed before 10:00

No More Cody, Alas

Tuesday, May 4th, Colorado Springs
Drew was up and on his way before any of us got up; the girls were up around 7:15, Evie about 7:30, and they were ready for school by 8:00, at least Hayden was. I helped her make her bed and had Evie show her how to do a French corner. I think she liked it.
We went off to Halle’s swim lesson, a new group as Jill wanted her to be there when she worked out. Jill was ok for a while but when Jill walked in, she started to cry, and eventually, we retrieved her and Jill decided to put her back in her usual class. I guess the tears are somewhat common for Halle, whenever Jill seems to enter a gym or pool. We came back and Evie gave Halle a bath, on a sunny but extraordinarily windy day.
Evie and Jill went shopping but I stayed home and relaxed, doing very little. Without Cody, I don’t see the need to walk like I did before. For dinner, we had London Broil, but I took it off too soon, and had to put it back on. The girls were in rare form, mostly wild because we were eating so late. We watched Idol and went to bed around 10:00. We seem happy just relaxing and Evie spends her day playing with the girls, though they still love to go down and play by themselves.

Grand Junction to Colorado Springs

Monday, May 3, 2010: Grand Junction to Colorado Springs via # 50 and #115—314 miles, 7 hours: Montrose, Gunnison, Salida, Canon City

I am up by 6:00, find out from the desk that the roads seem dry on #50 through the mountains to Colorado Springs, that it should take around five hours. We get coffee and breakfast and are on the road by about 8:00, which is our goal. We hope to take our time, perhaps stop on the way at places of interest.
It’s a beautiful day for a drive, and we have checked the weather and the roads look dry, though yesterday might have been a real problem, as it no doubt snowed, and Jill said it snowed in CS. The ride towards Montrose is easy, as there are farms on all sides, and the mountains though in the distance, are not severe and the plain seems wide and verdant, though that’s an overstatement. We stop in a small town called Delta, on the way to Montrose, and stop in a Info center, pick up a map, and not that most of the store are occupied and the owners are out in the front sweeping their walks. It feels like old times, in some ways, with the small town life just waking up. We continue to Montrose, and then start to head East, From Montrose, we are much closer to the mountains, the Sawatch Range I think, and we follow the Blue Mesa River for miles, just before Gunnison, as we wonder if it is natural or man made. As we near Salida, we begin to climb to the Monarch Pass, after Gunnison, which is 11,320 feet high. There’s lots of snow on the top, and the pines are covered with snow, making it a spectacular though somewhat scary ride, if you don’t like the heights. The Visitor Office at the top, looks like an igloo as it’s covered with snow, purposely I think. The ride down is jut as spectacular, toward Salida, though we are happy not to be so high, perched on the side of huge ravines and canyons.
Between Salida and Canon City, we skirt the Arkansas River, perhaps the most beautiful part of the ride, as we are surrounded by canyons, huge cliffs, though the valley various in width from a half mile or more, to less than a couple hundred yards. What’s neat is that every five miles or so, there is a camping/boating/fishing area, where one can take advantage of the river, either kayaking, fishing, or just enjoying the hiking and surroundings. There are lots of whitewater raft outfits, though the river itself looks fairly shallow and rocky, making it hard to navigate safely I would think. There were a few ski areas, Monarch to be exact, and some camping/cabins/ for tourists, though most of them seemed fairly rough, for the middle class no doubt, nothing like the kind you might find in a Vail. There are also lots of cabins, trailers, and fairly nice summer homes set along the river, as it would be a great retreat from someone from CS or nearby. It seems to be fishing season, as fisherman are sprinkled along the length, standing in the water, either fly or salmon fishing, I am not sure which. It is a lovely area of the mountains, part of it called Bighorn Sheep Canyon.
We then arrived in Canon City, famous it seems for it’s prisons, in fact we have seen a couple other as we set out from Grand Junction. Beyond Canon City, we pick up Rt # 115, which is basically a plateau which winds down to Ft. Carson and CS, a lovely drive, with little development until we get within ten miles of Carson, when we begin to see amazing houses set back either on the tree filled valley, or set back on the sides of mountains. This is obviously the place to live if you want to get away from the city.
We arrived at Jill’s about 3:30, and at 5:00 took the kids to soccer till 6:30, when we then took them to Culvers for the third time this trip. We were back by 7:30, got them ready for bed, and all was quiet by 8:30. I told Halle a brief bad boy story and she fell asleep right after. I hoped to watch the Cavs game, which we had recorded, but when I came in to the living room, the wrap up was on and I saw they had lost by 18 points so I just erased it. Jill and Drew returned about 9:00, from his going away party at the baseball park. They were both quite tired, so we talked for about a half hour and went to bed, a long day but a good one.

Vegas to Grand Junction, Colorado

Sunday, May 2, 2009- Vegas-St. George-Grand Junction Via 15 north, then 70 East -520 miles, 9 hours
We left about 9:00 in the morning, after a breakfast of bagels and fruit, coffee, a shower and some talk. We took the # 215 around the city to # 15 North, which we will be on for about 4 hours before we hit #70. We actually go through a bit of Arizona after exiting Nevada before heading into Utah. The ride is pretty interesting, desert like, with mouitains off in the distance through most of Nevada, though it has some scruib and Yucca. Though not many towns. When we get in to Arizona, it gets prettier, and we go through a Gulch called Virgin River, about nine milew long, between these enormous rock canyons, a really spectacular ride. As we get to Utah, and through the canyon, the rocks have turned more red, mostly in this particular canyon. We ente Utah and the town of St. George, a pretty modern city, with lots of amenities. As we head north from there, the mountains are on either side of the road,, off in the distance, most rocks, with snow on the top of those to the West, not East. There is scrub off the road, mostly green, but the mountains themselves have little if any vegetation. It’s also quite windy, and off in the distance, we saw clouds settling on tops of the mountains, which might mean some rain or sleet up ahead, as it will be colder in the mountains. I know some snow was predicted in this areas earlier in the day when it was colder. After St. George, there is little development, as its quite hilly and rocky, though an occasional town appears off in the distance. We hope to make Grand Junction by 7:00 as we leave an hour, making it a 9 hour trip.
Just as #15 turned into #70, and headed East, we ran into sleet on the roads, snow off on the fields and mountains that surrounded us. It would sleet for ten or fifteen minutes, the road foggy, the vistas gray and stormy and then it would clear up a bit; then begin again. We stopped at the world’s slowest Mc Donalds, where not only did the food come slowly, the packer seemed unsure, packing and repacking. It took us twenty minutes, waiting behind four people
We then headed East, on the 100 mile run of no gas/accommodations, from Richfield to Green River, a spectacular ride through the San Rafael Swell and San Rafael Reef. On both sides were spectacular orange canyons, rock formations, then valleys and farmlands initially in Richfield. There were various vistas where ;you could stop and see look at the spectacular workings of nature, much more impressive than any city man could make. We did get some sleet in the mountains, and at one time, we were at 8000 feet, and stayed there fro quite awhile. Both sides appeared uninhabited for at least 50-60 miles, as it was just canyons, rocks, ravines, and vistas off between the canyons. Nothing much could live in these areas unless you were prepared, and I saw not evidence of water, rivers, or anything like that. In fact, what appeared to be snow in some areas was really salt marshes, which we never expected. To0wards the end, as we neared Green River, the land flattened a bit,with more greenery, low lying shrubs,,some trees that look like olive trees but I am As Anurse were not. We did get some sun after the sun and sleet, which lit up the canyons, turning the gray to orange.. About 15 miles from Green River, we began to descend, a long winding with amazing vistas off to left and right, flat topped mountains, on one side, with little green, toward the north, and on the south side, more shrubs and trees. We could see off toward Green River, huge mountains, perhaps 30-40 miles in the distance, or so it seems. I never realized how desolate Eastern Utah was, nor how spectacular in many wa;ys., multicolored, from the orange, to gold and brown, and gray or white, depending on the sun. As I am writing this, we are still descending from the mountains, perhaps 4/5 miles, down into a valley, which will lead I assume to Grand Junction where we hope to spend the night, The ride down, the views on both sides, are amazing, again huge mountains of rock, with tips that seem almost sculpted but are the work of nature. At times, huge rocks, like those of Sisphus, pose on the edge of mountain tops, making one wonder how they stay steady. I can see between rocks, a narrow passage way down into the valley and can glipse on either side, rocks, perhaps 20 feet on each side of the road, rising above us, making oen wonder how these roads were ever made by engineers.. I will have to revise m estimate, and the road downwards has to be more like ten to twelve miles. We finally seem to have arrived on level grown, but there are still rocks, slate, and some scrub on either side, though still no signs of civilizations. The road now winds through a much flatter areas, thought fifty or sixty miles away, I can see the huge mountains, looming like watchtowers. And the land appears almost desert like as we wind our way into Green River, a verys sandy soil, with a bit ao green grass, as if not much could live off this lands. It almost looks like a huge grazing ranch, stretching 30 or 40 miles off in the distance, as I pass a few cows, but see no farms or ranches or human life. Off to the other side, just as huge, I see a few cows off in the distance, making one wonder how they are rounded up. Off to my left, probably also off to the East, I can see snow covered mountains, probably the beginning of the Rockies.

We arrive in Grand Junction, a major town just off of #70, the largest I assume between #15 and Denver, or so it seems. The landscape is most flat topped mountains, on both sides, off in the distance, with small green leading from the homes or farms up to the mountain sides. It’s somewhat lunar, at least the mountains are, not very green, mostly rock, a bit of scrub. Off in the distance, we can see snow capped mountains, what must be the Rockies. We get in about 7:00, have our ritual of mannies, and I go out for Burger King. We end up going to bed around 9:30 as there is little on television.

Cruising Vegas and a Hawaiian Festival

Saturday, May 01, 2010: Las Vegas
I got up at 6:20, read yesterday’s paper, as they have no wireless and I have no interest in tv at the moment. Everyone else got up in shifts, and we had a breakfast of fruit and some eggs, before showering and heading off to the city. By the way, they have to great dogs, Taz, a great dane, and Aspen, a poi, both are quiet and well behaved. In fact, I have yet to hear them bark, though the cat makes the most noise, meyohing to get out side. It’s another windy day, typical for this area, but sunny in the low 60’s as we head off.
Laura and Pat’s house is on a cul de sac, a lovely house, with pool, huge back yard, an a garage for Pat to work on his cars, complete with a lift. It has a huge kitchen, with an island to match, where we can all sit and talk as Laurie cooks. It works really well.

We headed in to Las Vegas strip, in Pat’s big Toyota truck, and cruised down the major strip, first through downtown Las Vegas, and some of the old casinos, heading northwest to the newer section where are the famous casinos now stand, like the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace and the Venetian. We parked in the Bellagio, went up to their amazing lobby and atrium, where the spring flowers were amazing, as was the entire room. Tulips, poppies, you name it, were in full bloom, and many were put together to form various shapes, from animals, like turtles, to almost any shape. It’s done four times a year, clearly Xmas would be spectacular. I am struck by how crowded most of the area is despite it being early May. Lines of people were checking in the the Bellagio, and when we came back later, there were still lines. We walked through the casino proper, not very busy, past all the amazing shops, not very crowded, and walked outside, intending to go to the Parisian, marked by the Effifel Tower, in the front of the hotel. They all have gimmics, from pirate’s cove to Luxor, trying to outdo the others. I imagine they are all mortgaged to the hilt and the downturn most of hurt them, as some new building has stopped, but at least today, it looked pretty busy for a Saturday morning. We walked back to the Bellagio, headed to a Hawaiian Fest, as there is a large Hawaiian community in the area. We walked past numerous food stalls, and I got some Korean Bulgogi and Evie kahlu pig with cabbage. We sat under a tent with Laura and Pat, listened to Hawaiian music and watched the dancers, most seemingly in slow motion, but I guess that’s the hula. We stayed about a half hour, bought some malasadas, made from Pillsbury dough(ugh), and went to a couple of stores, Cost Plus, World Market, and Pier I to find presents for the treasury chest as well as the kids in Colorado Springs, if we have a gathering with Jill’s friends. I laid out in the sun for a half hour but it was hot and I did not want to get burnt. Evie and the girls are making stuffed shells for dinner and we are going to watch the first game of the Cavs/Celtics series at 5:00. Las Vegas seems quite modern, though I mostly saw shopping areas, not as many housing developments. I don’t think we are in the posh areas, which seemd to be southeast of the city.
About 4:00, Pat and I drove off to climb the mountain behind his house with Leah and Evie. Evie went up part way, but because of her knee, decided to stay there and let Pat and I move up. We climbed up to one peak, where there was a bench and a great view of the city, which was far and high enough for me. The panorama of the Vegas basin is immense, with the city off in the distance to the left, and developments going almost as far as the eye can see in various directions. It was a bout a 15 minute walk up, the same down.
We went back to the house, watched the Cavs pull out what looked like a sure loss, and had a dinner of stuffed shell and Italian sausages. After the game, we relaxed, Evie played banana grams for a bit and went to bed around 10:30