Alrighty then. Let's mix it up. And mind your trajectory.

Not counting more general terms like "Tri-County", "Twin cities", and "Four corners", I have lived in or visited some mashed together places. Ark-La-Tex, Texarkana, Ark-La-Miss, Floribama, Delmarva. They're cool sounding. They roll off your tongue. I was just in another one. It still sounds funny to me, but so did Ark-La-Miss for a long time, too. As I was headed out of Looeyville I saw reference to the area calling it Kentuckiana. Yep. Leave it to a local tire store chain to enlighten me like that.

I'm in Phoenix. What a brutal day that was getting here. But I'm here, it's reasonably warm, and I have the weekend off with my per diem intact. I think I'm going to locate a theater and catch up on some recent movies I've been wanting to see.

On the flight from Louisville to Chicago I heard a new one. The silly flight attendant, there was only one because it was a very, very small plane, included this into the speil that also seeks to explain the complex workings of a seat belt (place the this part into the that part...), "The window shades must remain up during our takeoff and landing." OK. Ummmm.... why, exactly is that, anyway? I know you put your seats in the full upright position so that in the event of a crash you will follow a carefully computed trajectory. That only stands to reason. But what possible difference could it make if the window shade was up or down? Yes, none. Thank you.

You know what's a pretty good feeling, in a pretty weird way? Being half way through arguing your point with a loved one, working hard to make them understand your reasoning, when ta-ding! a little bulb lights up and you see the logic in their point and the fallacy in yours. I'm not saying that realizing that you are wrong (or if not wrong, at least not as right as you had originally thought) or that "losing" is a good feeling. But, when the realization hits, and you are adult enough to stop mid-sentence and say, "You know what, I think you have a point. I see what you mean." To me, that is a good feeling. It makes the other person pause, then smile. It strengthens the bond. It doesn't happen all that often, either that I'm wrong or that I will admit to it. But sometimes it does. And sometimes, like the hardest working man in show business, James Brown, I feel good.

Not sure how I got all touch feely there. I'm sorry, sirs, it won't happen again!

I'll see you at the bottom, if there really is one. They always tell me when you hit it you'll know it, out
Ramblin' Ed