Monday, October 29, 2012
Back to normal
A lot has happened since I last blogged. I have driven across the country from St.
Augustine to Denver, by way of Milwaukee; a total of 2300 miles. I would like to tell you it was fun, but
driving nine hours a day is not my idea of a good time.
I did see a lot of very interesting parts of this country. There were many times I wished I had the
ability to snap a picture. Georgia has
some beautiful lakes and rivers; the hillsides of Kentucky were a riot of
colors; the ground fog outside Milwaukee was fascinating, and the Mississippi
River is imposing in its width. I saw
baseball in Tampa, modern dance in Milwaukee, and played pai gow poker in
Council Bluffs, Iowa. I drove on a
highway full of trucks in Georgia, hit rush hour in Omaha, and spent long
stretches in eastern Colorado seeing barely a car.
Fortunately, I had good weather most of the time. I came to love my Garmin GPS and began feel
like I can’t live without Sirius XM satellite radio. I was thankful every time my car started, but
the old Lexus (12 years old, 131,000 miles) was reliable. I saw rest areas in 10 states on this last
trip and have been in 20 states in the past 12 months. I saw lots of road construction, RVs, and
Romney bumper stickers. I even went to
another country (The Bahamas).
During my year off, which we will call my sabbatical, I lived
a life very different from what was normal before. I saw lots of Broadway shows, New York
Philharmonic concerts, and Megan dance twice.
I went to art museums, halls of fame, and the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway. I walked barefoot on the
beach and through Grand Central during rush hour. I went up to the Top of the Rock and the New
York Transit Museum in an old subway station.
I lived in Connecticut where the people are rude and stayed in Florida where
a lot of them are old. I ate many
different kinds of fish and searched for good barbeque.
I did manage to write some, but not enough. I failed to accomplish many of my goals, but
I learned some valuable lessons. I
missed my friends (no surprise) and life in Colorado (very surprising).
All in all I am not sorry I left, but I am glad to be
back. Tomorrow I return to the Jeffco
DA’s office for my fourth stint. Yes,
this will be a record, and I fully expect that I will receive many comments
about this unusual work history. I need
to develop a snappy answer. I have been using
“I am going to set a record that no one will ever break” which is certainly
true, but not especially clever.
I still need to find a place to live. I have been imposing on the wonderful couple
of Rob Buchan and Michele Wagner, but they are preparing for a more permanent
roommate and don’t need me imposing on their hospitality. I have been shocked at the rental
prices. I guess no one can get a
mortgage so everyone is renting. I do
plan to buy a place sometime soon.
Anyway, life is going back to normal. I am going to have to wake up early, shave
every day, and actually do some work every day whether I want to or not. No more long walks along the beach. I plan to get this picture blown up and put
in my office as a reminder of my sabbatical.
It was a nice break, but time to go back to doing what I do.
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