For the locals…excellent crafty items…I have found three things I need…all at least 1/2 of the craft show prices.
Yesterday (Tuesday), I returned home from Portland. Put my computer down, got out my iPhone, and went to take off my hat. I was surprised it wasn’t on my head. I then checked the house and Air VW the Gray, as I often leave the hat in First Class. It was not there or in Biz Class. I called the Broadway Grill; yes, they have it. Today, Wednesday, I would be driving back into Portland to get my hat.
I rose later. I had finished a book last night. It was a clearish morning, and soon the sky would show some blue, and the puddles would shrink or disappear. I tried to find my focus, but Brazil packing and preparations still steal many of my thinking cycles.
I dressed and connected with Deborah here and there. She is at a work conference in Michigan. I also talked to Dondrea much of the day about the trip and visa details.
I found the near-noon traffic easy, and the water was gone from the roads. It was easy parking too, and soon I had my hat back, a golden ale this time (only average) and a buffalo chicken pizza which, having no breakfast, was soon all inside of me (a regret). I turned on the online broadcast of the sinking of the SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built, all 990 feet of it. It was to become an artificial reef today and a diver paradise.
The ship’s stacks were gone (they would break off in a sinking, and the light metal would soon make them unstable), and its mast. It would sink in relatively shallow 180 feet of water and would be only 50 feet down to the top. Passages had been cut in the steel to give divers safer, easier access. Clutter was removed, and air ducts and similar items were removed to prevent them from trapping divers or cutting their hoses.
I checked in, and the sinking would not happen until late. I saw it later that evening. Unlike the Navy weapon-firing sinkings, the Coast Guard required no explosives. Instead, they flooded the liner by pumping water into it and then opening valves to the sea. Holes in the lower decks then finished the job. She sank, beginning a roll that threatened the plan. I learned on Thursday, while I wrote this, that the SS United States is on the bottom on an even keel. Ready soon for divers off Florida. It had been cleaned of toxic items and should be an excellent reef in the Gulf.
I returned home, and a nap overtook me. It is also the 11th day of the 11th month. I remembered my grand uncle, “Bucky” Wild, was there in France at the end of the Great War. He was part of the US forces under “Black Jack” Pershing.
I rose, cleaned the toilet, swept and mopped the kitchen floor. I put out some of the Dungeons & Dragons material for the game on Thursday @6:15. We are playing the converted Caverns of Thracia adventure, but ignoring all the side quests and maps. Maybe next time.
I had too much pizza and was not looking for dinner. I met Dondrea, Z, and the praise band, and later the choir, practicing in the chapel as the AA group had moved from Wesley Hall, now stuffed with Holiday Market stuff. I found many items I may return for.
Z picked Concordia and a small island to play on. A variant startup for the
Balearica map takes us a moment to work out. The ‘D’ cities are not used, meaning we will be tripping over each other, and I notice that there are many brick cities. Brick cities do not count toward the city count, but are the cheapest to build and produce bricks that are always needed.
Z, while picking this compressed map, has some trouble getting organized. She has not played for six months, and we have played this map only once. I have no problem planning and have my turns planned out two to three deep, but I am flexible to change them as the board changes. It is my favorite and best game. I do lose to good players, and I find it best to end the game fast for my style of play.
I had 50 more points than Z at the end, finishing with 7 points, having built in every province and only one brick city. The game uses a complex card-purchase system, which also determines the point multiplier. But despite the point spread, Z had only one house left and would have ended the game in the next few plays.
The guys, Will and Peaches, who taught me Concordia by playing Peaches’ copy at a coffee shop, told me that the winner is usually the person with the most cards, and that was true today. I lost my connection with Will during the Pandemic; I miss him and a few other gamers I lost touch with during the Pandemic. I won my first game to their surprise. I think of them often when I play.
With the game done, choir was also done. We took longer than usual, but I had to talk to some folks headed to Brazil, and Z had to reconnect with the game and find a plan. It is a very difficult map.
With that done, and Z giving her regrets for Thursday’s Dungeons & Dragons game, I headed out. I stopped at The 649 and had a beer and a cheese fondue after learning that Mariah and Emma had finished their night playing trivia. They did win a free drink and got my favorite, an Old Fashioned, and sent me a picture of them enjoying the drink.
I ordered some early Black Friday discounted microprocessors, but I am not sure when I will get to them. I headed home before closing the bar. It was foggy, our first fogging night in a while.
I read for a bit and soon slept. I dreamed of traveling, getting lost at the dream airport, and not being able to understand the dream flight process. And then it changes into a train station, and it gets more confusing. I woke early, went back to sleep, and found myself back there, still trying to get home.
I seldom dream that it’s the last day of class, and I learn I missed a whole class on higher calculus or differential equations, and need to pass the final, or that I’m showing up somewhere with no clothing. Instead, I am lost while traveling in a car or trying to connect at an airport or train station. Sometimes I make the flight only to discover it is a flying theater and I can’t find my seat. And each time, an usher tells me I have it wrong and points me somewhere else. I wander room after room until I am in some back-row seat. The movie starts as the flying theater takes off. Usually I wake up then.
Thanks for reading. I did dream of airports.
And please consider next week’s speaker…
