On the Road to Norwich
I was a mugwump when it came to taking this trip to Norwich.
I had my mug on one side of the fence and my wump on the other. I wasn't sure what I was going to do until I called my Mom to let her know about this potential trip.
"VW, I can't tell you how many things in life I missed because I thought I had to be at work. That place will open with out you. Go and be with your family."
That's what pushed my wump over the edge and I decided to go.
I've only been to that part of the country once before and I loved it. The best was seeing a ballgame at Fenway.
It wasn't just a chance to see a game. It was a religious pilgrimage to one of the holiest sites the Church of Baseball has.
There wasn't going to be any time for anything fun. I was rolling in Wednesday night for a funeral on Thursday and leaving the next morning at 6:00.
This trip was gonna hurt.
As the plane landed, I hung back in my seat and watched all the other passengers scurry to get their carry on items.
I prefer to wait until everyone else is just about off before I make my move. I didn't bring much with me. Just a man purse filled with books, a spare pair of boxers in case my luggage gets lost, and some Fruit Loop breakfast bars.
I disembark and make a quick pit stop in the Men's room to freshen up a bit before the two hour car ride ahead of me.
Heading down the escalator to baggage claim, I see a girl do leg kicks and jumping jacks.
It's Nerdle. She doesn't want me to miss her.
She grabs the man purse and explains that we aren't renting a car (what?).
That a friend of hers is going to give us a ride to Norwich (what?).
And that we are going to take public transportation to his house (WHAT?).
It's the first part of my "go-with-the-flow" trip. I realize that I am not in control of anything at this point. So, I'll just make the best of things as they come.
Nerdle walks over to a map of the train and points out to me where we are going. She is immediately approached by a large black lady who offers to help her find her way.
While the Nerdle is quickly approaching 30 and about to obtain a doctorate, she still looks like you should card her if she was trying to get into a rated "R" movie.
She also has the innate ability to hold a conversation with anyone. She could be the perfect talk show host with her inquisitive nature combined with her Yogi Berra-esque skill of saying unintentionally funny things.
We start on the Silver Line before transferring to the "T." It takes us about 20 minutes but we laugh about how much this is like our experience competing in the Urban Challenge (Go to Urban Challenge.com to see what I'm talking about. There are pictures of me in the Los Angeles results page for 2002).
We hit our stop and I practically run up the stairs with my baggage so I don't get run over by the masses behind me.
And we pop up in a Storybook Neighborhood.
You would never see anything like this in Orange County. I half expect to come across a stick ball game or a paper boy hawking the evening edition of the Globe.
I'm in a world now that seems too fantastic to really exist.
Nerdle explains that this neighborhood is less a melting pot of ethnicity and more a melting quilt. We pass the black section, the Polish section, and turn right into the Irish section.
She also told me that it was a short walk between the train station and her friends house.
It dawned on me that the Nerdle runs marathons and that her definition of a "short walk" may mean that somebody will be performing CPR on me near the end of it.
Right as I'm starting to feel this way, Nerdle exclaims "See, we're here!" (Thank you, Jesus!).
She bounds up the stairs and rings the broken doorbell. Her friend Olga notices that we are at the front door and lets us in.
I'm already feeling like we are intruding.
She brings us back into the house and Nerdle starts laughing because her friend Bo - who is going to be driving us - is asleep on the couch.
I'm so wishing that I could turn the clock back and rent that car. It's already 6:00 p.m. and by driving us to Norwich, Bo has safely guaranteed that he won't be home before 10:00.
Not only do I not have a friend in the U.S. that would be willing to do this for me, I wouldn't be willing to do this for any one of my friends.
Nerdle seems to have friends like this in every city. Possibly every continent.
I look into my future back talking with their five year old girl. I can't image what the Chicken will be like at that age.
Olga also brings their new baby boy into the room. He's been sick and on a nebulizer (could I feel more like crap for having Bo drive us?).
Nerdle teases me that the Commander and I will have nothing but girls. The truth is, a boy would be great, but I'll take what we get and hope for a health baby when the time comes.
It's time for us to hit the road and we head out to their Jeep Cherokee in the front. I'm willing to sit in the back so Nerdle and Bo can talk and I can just gel but Nerdle will have none of that.
Her special two-hour talk show is about to begin.
VW
I had my mug on one side of the fence and my wump on the other. I wasn't sure what I was going to do until I called my Mom to let her know about this potential trip.
"VW, I can't tell you how many things in life I missed because I thought I had to be at work. That place will open with out you. Go and be with your family."
That's what pushed my wump over the edge and I decided to go.
I've only been to that part of the country once before and I loved it. The best was seeing a ballgame at Fenway.
It wasn't just a chance to see a game. It was a religious pilgrimage to one of the holiest sites the Church of Baseball has.
There wasn't going to be any time for anything fun. I was rolling in Wednesday night for a funeral on Thursday and leaving the next morning at 6:00.
This trip was gonna hurt.
As the plane landed, I hung back in my seat and watched all the other passengers scurry to get their carry on items.
I prefer to wait until everyone else is just about off before I make my move. I didn't bring much with me. Just a man purse filled with books, a spare pair of boxers in case my luggage gets lost, and some Fruit Loop breakfast bars.
I disembark and make a quick pit stop in the Men's room to freshen up a bit before the two hour car ride ahead of me.
Heading down the escalator to baggage claim, I see a girl do leg kicks and jumping jacks.
It's Nerdle. She doesn't want me to miss her.
She grabs the man purse and explains that we aren't renting a car (what?).
That a friend of hers is going to give us a ride to Norwich (what?).
And that we are going to take public transportation to his house (WHAT?).
It's the first part of my "go-with-the-flow" trip. I realize that I am not in control of anything at this point. So, I'll just make the best of things as they come.
Nerdle walks over to a map of the train and points out to me where we are going. She is immediately approached by a large black lady who offers to help her find her way.
While the Nerdle is quickly approaching 30 and about to obtain a doctorate, she still looks like you should card her if she was trying to get into a rated "R" movie.
She also has the innate ability to hold a conversation with anyone. She could be the perfect talk show host with her inquisitive nature combined with her Yogi Berra-esque skill of saying unintentionally funny things.
We start on the Silver Line before transferring to the "T." It takes us about 20 minutes but we laugh about how much this is like our experience competing in the Urban Challenge (Go to Urban Challenge.com to see what I'm talking about. There are pictures of me in the Los Angeles results page for 2002).
We hit our stop and I practically run up the stairs with my baggage so I don't get run over by the masses behind me.
And we pop up in a Storybook Neighborhood.
You would never see anything like this in Orange County. I half expect to come across a stick ball game or a paper boy hawking the evening edition of the Globe.
I'm in a world now that seems too fantastic to really exist.
Nerdle explains that this neighborhood is less a melting pot of ethnicity and more a melting quilt. We pass the black section, the Polish section, and turn right into the Irish section.
She also told me that it was a short walk between the train station and her friends house.
It dawned on me that the Nerdle runs marathons and that her definition of a "short walk" may mean that somebody will be performing CPR on me near the end of it.
Right as I'm starting to feel this way, Nerdle exclaims "See, we're here!" (Thank you, Jesus!).
She bounds up the stairs and rings the broken doorbell. Her friend Olga notices that we are at the front door and lets us in.
I'm already feeling like we are intruding.
She brings us back into the house and Nerdle starts laughing because her friend Bo - who is going to be driving us - is asleep on the couch.
I'm so wishing that I could turn the clock back and rent that car. It's already 6:00 p.m. and by driving us to Norwich, Bo has safely guaranteed that he won't be home before 10:00.
Not only do I not have a friend in the U.S. that would be willing to do this for me, I wouldn't be willing to do this for any one of my friends.
Nerdle seems to have friends like this in every city. Possibly every continent.
I look into my future back talking with their five year old girl. I can't image what the Chicken will be like at that age.
Olga also brings their new baby boy into the room. He's been sick and on a nebulizer (could I feel more like crap for having Bo drive us?).
Nerdle teases me that the Commander and I will have nothing but girls. The truth is, a boy would be great, but I'll take what we get and hope for a health baby when the time comes.
It's time for us to hit the road and we head out to their Jeep Cherokee in the front. I'm willing to sit in the back so Nerdle and Bo can talk and I can just gel but Nerdle will have none of that.
Her special two-hour talk show is about to begin.
VW
posted by JVW at 8:17 PM
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