DAMMIT!!

One of my worst fears spread its big black bat wings, flew out of its cave and hovered over my head, blotting out the sunshine and plunging me into the midnight of despair. When I returned from the Road Trip (see previous), the roll of color film I had been shooting during said Road Trip was still in the camera. Subsequent events revealed that the film roll had not seated itself properly on the take-up sprocket; or, to put it plainly, I had been shooting pictures of NOTHING. But I'm a seasoned enough photographer to have been carrying a back-up camera loaded with black-and-white film. So, unless I screw up the processing of that film, I should have something to show you in a few days. In the meantime, my shimmering prose will have to suffice....

The Road Trip -- Prologue

LIKE ALL complex logistic operations, my Official 2010 First-Days-of-the-Rest-of-My-Life-65th-Birthday-Father's-Day-Summer-Solstice Road Trip had its genesis in meticulous planning. I spent at least fifteen minutes squinting at maps and trying to remember why certain places shown on those maps had some nostalgic or sentimental significance that would justify the time, expense and wear and tear of a solo pilgrimage in my long-in-the-tooth (123,000 miles) 2003 Dodge Neon. I didn't have the time or (so I thought, anyway) the stamina to visit every place in New England that had been formative in my life over the last almost fifty years.

So, we may write of other road trips. For now, we'll concentrate on this one.

Since I was traveling solo, I had the luxury of selecting the musical theme for the voyage. Don't ask me why, but I chose Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony -- the "Symphony of a Thousand" -- as suitably majestic and lengthy (not to say tedious) enough to gobble up road miles by the dozen. I listened to it three times on the outward journey and three times on the trip home, in each case with multiple re-plays of the portions which REALLY gave me goosebumps.

The camera gear was important, too. I loaded both Pentaxes, made sure my gadget bag was full of spare ammunition and lenses, flash, tripod, etc. This was going to be a PICTORIAL pilgimage, worthy of such stalwarts as The National Geographic, even if I wasn't packing a nuclear-powered, turbocharged Model K9-P Nikoltacanonflex Digital Demon DSLR Deluxe with hazelnut flavoring and cinnamon sprinkles. Nope, I was going to use film, you see -- with tragic results as you may read presently.

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AND NOW THE DAY OF DEPARTURE HAD DAWNED!! With a full tank of gas, a big cup of coffee and a couple of contraband doughnuts (another positive aspect of traveling solo), and with Veni, veni, Creator Spiritus ringing forth in full choral splendor from the rear speakers (yet another good thing about flying solo: I get to set the volume where I want), I set out heading east and north, bound for the Hudson River Valley, Dutchess County, and the Town of Poughkeepsie. This was the situs of my first marriage, if you please, and an oft-visited place during the two decades of that (ill-fated in some ways but not others) liaison.

But now, dear readers, I shall leave you while I spend a few days trying to dream up the next episode in this ridiculous saga....

The First Days of the Rest of My Life: My 65th Birthday, Father's Day, Summer Solstice Road Trip

Watch this blog for stories and pictures from my epic (?) First Days of the Rest of My Life Sixty-Fifth Birthday Summer Solstice A. D. 2010 Road Trip. It covered about 800 miles and 40 years, with stops in Poughkeepsie, New York; Southfield, Massachusetts; Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Cohasset, Massachusetts. The characters ranged in age from two and a half years to ... well ... deceased. Stay tuned!

OBX? OK! SIC? OK! ROG? WTF???

IF YOU drive a car in traffic, you've seen these little emblems people put on their cars, to say something about themselves. Most often, these are the initials of places the car owner has visited, and found recreationally meaningful or significant, or initials of a college attended or some other talisman. This is one of those little find-the-image-that-doesn't-make-a-bloody-bit-of-sense tests. Please look over the following (this is dead easy, trust me) images, and find the one that doesn't make a bloody bit of sense. Have fun!

Now, we all know this is the ubiquitous "Outer Banx" (huh?) status symbol. This means the driver of the car in question and his/her family (if any) has/have spent time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and that he/she/it/they can't spell. This one tells us the driver's status involves time spent at a lovely community on the South Jersey seashore. At least this driver knows how to spell the name of his/her/its/their particular vacation Shangri-La.

NOW, for the one that doesn't make a bloody bit of sense...

WHAT??? This is one crazy-ass message. What is/are this person(s) saying?? I spend my vacation at the ORTHODONTIST?? I spend so much money on my orthodontist I can't afford a vacation at OBX or SIC? I have a whole lot of status and you should kiss my ass because I spend money at the orthodontist? I'm providing free advertising for my orthodontist because he/she's charging me out the ying-yang for teeth-straightening?

I'd be most obliged if some reader could explain this puzzle to me....