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Showing posts with the label car rides

Some gluttony

Mary was given a new used car. Our Uncle Stan brought it as near to us as Indianapolis, and so I went there to pick it up with Martin and his parents.

Close to the Grissom Air Reserve Base, we stopped at a roadside café. Martin’s parents bought us breakfast.

It’d be ungrateful of me not to describe this meal. I’m no food writer – but here goes.

It was the Babette’s Feast of breakfasts. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet. The biscuits. The bacon. The casserole. The sausage. All were made from old Amish recipes. I knew, from the first bites, that this would be one of the greatest breakfasts of my life.

Caveman dieters, Martin’s parents ate just a few fried eggs. But they enjoyed the other food vicariously, keenly watching Martin and me. Their eyes took in every detail. They listened closely as we described what we were eating.

It was the first day of our Christmas break.

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Yesterday, for most of the high school students, I photocopied crossword puzzles about Christmas (also, a few “Winter Wonderland” word-searches, for the heathen). Teacher after teacher came into my office and gave me money, cards, and sweets. Then, after school was over, Martin and I went to the staff members’ Christmas party. I ate hors d’oeuvres and watched the teachers drink a lot of beer.

The quadrennial car ride

“Story of the Week” from Library of America.

Martin showed me that website. It combines two of my greatest interests: literature and PDFs.

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Thanksgiving upon us, we brace ourselves for a round trip to Kansas City. It involves two long car rides through featureless downstate Illinois. At least it should be a comfortable trip. We’re borrowing Martin’s parents’ SUV.

There is a Wendy’s that we like to stop at, outside of Hannibal. Or else we might go through St. Louis and Columbia, and gaze upon I-70’s “fine establishments.”

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What worries me is how to choose the music. Some years ago I rode with David, and we took turns selecting playlists. It came out well. This year the other passengers are Martin, Mary, Edoarda, and Stephen: too many different wills. No matter what’s chosen, someone is bound to be dissatisfied. (Worse, I doubt we’ll agree upon an equitable procedure for choosing.)

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I hope for cloudy weather, so as not to have to squint for hours.

In South Bend, today is the first day of noticeable snow.