Wednesday night, the plane boarded at 10:35. I was on the plane before 11 and discovered that seat 25F was indeed a window seat, and the center seat was empty. Also, this row adjoins the toilet, and for the whole trip, the bathroom light would light the area, and there would be traffic all trip. The guy, who fell right asleep, was all but the bathroom attendant. This row also adjoins the emergency row, and the seats cannot be declined. I am unsure if the plane had worse seats than these cheap seats, but I put in my earbuds (cheaper but working ones I have used for years) and set up the in-plane entertainment.
The plane was warm when it took off. The initial leap into the sky included the plane suddenly drifting and the pilot slamming the plane back to the runway. The aircraft bounced and swerved the whole trip, with the pilot working hard for this flight. I got a cup of ginger ale and ice, and later, coffee was offered to all of us still awake. Later, with over an hour left, I put on my sweater as it was cold; I took it off earlier. My bag was under my feet, and my heavy coat squished into the space between the chair and the wall. My hat and sweater were set in the spare seat. The flight was under five hours.
I found “A Gentleman in Moscow” as an option with the first three episodes available and had read that this was a great show. I put on CC now with my reduced hearing, as I find my earaches if I turn up the sound loud enough to hear everything and drown out the background noise. I also do this now at the house and discovered I could use CC at the movies (it is not available). I hope Google Glasses will provide this feature someday and let me follow conversations better. Like most people with reduced hearing, I miss some things, especially on my left side, and just nod and smile.
The show is a fictional story, originally a novel by Amor Towles, set in the chaos of the Russian Communist takeover in Moscow. The tale is about a fictional prince ordered to remain in a hotel or be shot. The prince is given a servant’s room (not his opulent one), but some items are moved to his room. During this time, Liam McGregor plays the count perfectly, calmly, and believableally. “His Excellency” becomes a fixture at the hotel and soon becomes a problem that the communists try to hammer down this nail that will not align. However, Liam plays a calm gentleman and seems to take each affront as a chance to show he is a gentleman again. More importantly, he will never let them feel satisfied seeing him react, a lesson he learned from his grandmother; we know this from flashbacks and the stories he tells. I enjoyed the first three episodes, and it is clearly a reason to try Paramount+ for a month or so.
I had an hour left of the flight, so I put on the start of the latest, not terrible, Marvel comic book movie, Deadpool and Wolverine. I had seen it in theaters and thought it entertaining and irreverent. It was perfect for the highly rough ride we experienced as we crossed storms to reach Detroit. I put the seat arm back down and held on a few times. This matched the action on the film playing; local special effects to go with the movie!
It was pouring rain in Detroit, and we arrived intact, “shaken and not stirred. ” Soon, I was off the plane and enjoyed walking from A77 to the luggage claim, stopping once to send some water from Oregon and the plane’s service for Michigan’s reclamation. I walked straight through, but my luggage was no longer spinning, but sitting upside down on a belt, the indestructible luggage tag more crumpled but still surviving.
I wheeled the bag with my Nike gym bag on top and found the path to the rental car pick-up. I did transverse two escalators, one up and one down, to reach the bus stop, but I did take a sky bridge. Likely, this transit made some sense to the airport designer (though I think I could have walked outside, crossed the street, and been in the same place). I slowly became alarmed as I watched three buses pass for other car rental companies, but finally, an Avis bus showed.
I boarded it and again marveled at how far away the car rental place was and the enormous fields of cars once we arrived, at least a fifteen-minute trip once you were on the bus! It was like Michigan grew instead of rows of corn, acres of Avis, Hertz, and other brands of rental cars now. I was dropped off and took my bags, telling the driver to relax.
Now, at Avis, a kind and wide-awake gentleman took my driver’s license, scanned it, and soon, I was offered a minivan. I declined with the genuine excuse that I had never driven one and would be uncomfortable driving it. Instead, I was offered a small Ford SUV Edge. Initially, I had paid for Navigation, but I was assured that my phone would work, and soon, that was removed from my bill. The gentleman could not find a working one, anyway. With the minimum of paper, I headed out in the pouring rain, my coat and hat making us comfortable and the puddles small, so my shoes stayed dry, and I soon found my SUV. A nice-looking vehicle, a bit smaller than an Air Volvo, say, six inches narrower. I christened it Air Ford because my luggage was loaded in the cargo hold and boarded. With some adjustments, the black leather seats were comfortable, and my Apple iPhone was soon connected to ApplePlay. My friend Deborah, a former Apple employee, told me it all would work, and it did. I did not know how to start a directed trip, but I got directions and headed out.
I missed my turn, but as I got used to the ApplePlay screens, I found my way to 94W and headed out. It was dark, raining hard, and I had no sleep—not perfect for driving, and I had not done this drive in thirty years. Soon, the red on the map, I learned, met traffic, and I crawled and missed the connection to the usual way to Lansing, I being oblivious of this at the time. I realized I was headed directly west, and NW should be my direction. I was headed across the state to Jackson, Michigan. I stopped in Ann Arbor, not usually on the way to Lansing, Michigan.
I called my sister instead of texting, still learning The Way of ApplePlay, and she told me I was right that Ann Arbor and I was right to stop at Nick’s Original Pancake House for coffee and food. The sun has risen, meaning the black was replaced with wet grey. Linda texted me a trip link on my iPhone that automatically connected to ApplePlay, which was my best option. I was proud that I had figured it out, too.
I had some strange mix of hash browns and corned beef hash, toast, poached eggs (cold, but still excellent), and coffee. I could tell from the attitude and frankness that this is a low-wage state for waiters (the internet shows Michigan has a $3.93 an-hour rate plus tip as opposed to $12.50 for non-tipped workers). I paid a 25% tip to help and thank them for their friendliness to a lost stranger.
With my ApplyPlay now following a script and directed to East Lansing and my hotel, I strived with confidence and was powered by good coffee. I followed the roads and tried to get used to 70+ driving in Michigan in the pouring rain. My footwork was not the best, even for the automatic, but I tried to be a one-foot driver.
Michigan drivers are fast and talented, certainly more so than folks from Oregon, and I was making a slow transition back to crazy-fast driving. I also remembered changing lanes and letting other folks have the whole lane to merge, a Michigan law and one not seen in use for Oregon (everyone in Oregon is going so slow and letting people in as we are overly polite in Oregon). This allows folks to enter traffic at 70+ mph without requiring braking and other disruptive actions from too slow driving.
I arrived in East Lansing in just over an hour and found my hotel following my memory and the ApplePlay navigation. I parked in the mess of cars by the hotel, and a valet soon took my keys, name, and SUV. I went to the desk with low expectations, as it was not noon. I was thrilled to learn that my room was ready and that I could head there. Soon, I was unpacked and out of my clothing for the trip, showered, lying down, and luxuriated in my room.
Sleep did not find me, so I dressed in a T-shirt, sweater, LL Bean pants, and so on, with a sweater over my shirt. The benches on the sidewalks were gone, but Curious Books was still there and open. The same shopkeeper (name forgotten, sorry) as last time I was there (in May 2024), and soon, I found two books (a first-hand account of whaling in the nautical section and an omnibus of three small novels with Victorian villain stories) I had not seen before. Instead of schlepping them in my luggage, I had them posted to my home address. I found two more exciting books in the basement but decided that a 1964 book on Confederate Currency was unneeded and the 1924 story magazine could be passed on. I am trying to economize now that I am on a no-income except for interest and investments.
With my purchase inbound to Oregon, I headed to my next book-related visit. The MSU bookstore’s mathematics and computer textbooks always interest me, and often, I find something unique that I want. I resisted the $19 used book of computational mathematics filled with basic estimating formulas and practices. I also nodded to the graduate/doctorate-level books on ellipse calculations, which I know are a big topic in high mathematics. Many elliptical calculations can be mapped to AI and computer issues, including the traveling salesman problem. In another lifetime, I would be a mathematician/computer researcher. But I resist acquiring either book and head out (I still have an excellent book on codes from my last trip that needs more attention). I walk around the area and finally stop for a beer and a snack at Harper’s. This is a college bar I have never been to. On entry, I discover it is just that, and I will not likely return. My half-hearted waiter (name forgotten, sorry) gets me a beer in a plastic cup and a plate of good battered and fried cheese sticks. I read and enjoy my food and beer. I have a stout thinking of Tyler and Eric (who we will say goodbye to on Saturday). Slightly stumbling from the beer and near exhaustion, I reach my hotel and my room and manage a few hours of napping.
I sent out an update on my visit schedule (if you want one, send me a note and your email).
I rise, assemble myself, head to the nearby Beggar’s Banquet, and meet my waiter, Parker. Soon, Linda, my sister, Jesse (Linda’s husband), and Barb, my mom, arrive. We have a nice dinner together, and with the nap, I am able to function. I do have two Old Fashions and am soon quite happy and relaxed. I have the chicken piccata, which is better than passable but could have used some extra pounding. Jesse has the salmon, and Mom and Linda match me. Mom and I finished with chocolate mousse. Linda had the Crème brûlée. I treated to dinner, and Parker got a 22% tip on a high ticket.
We had an excellent time, but as often happens with good meals and friendly company, it seemed over before it started, and soon, we were headed out. I returned to the hotel, a block away, and soon rested and talked on the phone with a friend.
I called into the Zoom meeting in Oregon, Theology Pub, and followed along as I started to fade from lack of sleep, food, and drinks, and trying to connect to the topic of nature and Christian theology. The group was at a pub in Oregon, and the discussion was often slowed by orders for food and more beer in Oregon. My kind of Christian theology!
According to many Christian beliefs, the fundamental question was whether people held dominance over nature and that nature was separate from humankind. Was this in conflict with caring for nature and other religions and beliefs that considered humankind to be part of nature? The words from Chef Redcloud were remembered, and I found some of them (see here). We also considered the statement: God created humankind in God’s image, and then humanity created God in their image. The words bounced around with many opinions, and even Z joined tonight’s group with her grandmother. It looked like an excellent party.
I left at 11, as I was going to sleep either on Zoom or in a more comfortable position. I selected comfort. As I had showered in the late morning, I opted for just bed and soon was asleep, rising only once at 4ish to prove hydration (I had three glasses of water during the time on Zoom, and they undoubtedly helped me avoid leg cramps that night).
Thanks for reading.
Dear readers, especially my daily readers, I may combine Friday and Saturday into a single story on Sunday due to my complex schedule and the fact that some personal information is not included in the blog.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 