Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I Hate Packing

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Saturday morning we are going to visit my Dad in lovely Springhill Louisiana. He lives to the right of the clock tower.While I look forward to seeing him and of course the food, it is a very hard trip to make. I am like cheese, I do not travel well. I am lucky that I do not have to drive this time. Since the Man is going, he will be doing the driving.I have done the drive alone (the dog lost his license) and let me tell you, it is one LONG drive. I didn't mind so much when I was younger, but find the older and more decrepit I get, the more I mind it. What I mind more, however is FLYING! I hate to fly, I hate the airport, I hate being squashed in a plane, I hate the security hassle, and I hate that I usually cannot take my dog. I have, for years traveled with a dog. For many years, I took my sweet boy Dingo, a border collie, with me on my travels. He lived 21 years and was a terrific companion. Now I take Jack, my 3 year old Bichon Frise. He is a good little traveler. He has excellent elevator manners, and is quiet when I have to leave him for a little while. At one point a few years ago he and I were living in a suite in a hotel for a month (what good frequent "stayer" points we got for that one) and he became the mascot for the hotel. People would come to the door asking if they could take him for a walk. We ended up being away from home for 5 months, but he was a nice piece of home to have with me. I did miss the Man and I missed my bed and my house, and most of all my books. My Dad's little town does not have a bookstore, and the Walmart is very limited in their selection. It got to the point, I was online with Amazon every day! If UPS did not come, my Dad wondered where the "brown truck" was . My Dad lucked out and got to keep the books when I left, because there was no room in my car!

That trip was an emergency trip, and in my haste, I forgot to pack any underwear. This time, I am making a list, checking off each thing as I pack it, and hopefully, I will be able to cram everything in one medium sized bag. Of course, the book bag will have to be carefully planned as well, but I have a few ideas. I am in the middle of "The Teahouse Fire" so if I don't finish, it will come along. I also have "Abundance", but it is a pretty big book, so not sure if I am taking that one. Maybe "Audition", the Barbara Walters book will be the perfect fit. Packing...packing...stalling..stalling......

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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:52 PM

    Barbara Walter's life was influenced greatly by her older sister and she's written a beautiful memoir about her life. I read another memoir of a life influence by a sibling that I recommend highly - I actually liked it even more. The memoir is ""My Stroke of Insight"" by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Dr Taylor became a Harvard brain scientist to find the cause and cure for schizophrenia because her older brother was a sufferer. Then, crazy as life can be, Dr. Taylor had a stroke at age 37. What was amazing was that her left brain was shut down by the stroke - where language and thinking occur - but her right brain was fully functioning. She experienced bliss and nirvana and the way she writes about it (or talks about it in her now famous TED talk) is incredible.

    What I took away from Dr. Taylor's book above all, and why I recommend it so highly, is that you don't have to have a stroke or take drugs to find the deep inner peace that she talks about. Her book explains how. ""I want what she's having"", and thanks to this wonderful book, I can!

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  2. I wish I were going with you! I'm up for a long road trip...why am I living in a country where it takes about seven hours to get from one end to the other??

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  3. I hope you're having fun in the Deep South. I've left books behind at my mother's house. I'm about to head that way, so I suppose I'll have to bring them home. It's kind of nice to have a supply when you get there -- just don't read everything you order! :)

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