So… how was your day?
08/22/13 10:53 PM
From: Ann Morrison
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 10:53 PM
To: Friends & Family
Subject: So... how was your day?
The morning started out like most ‘move days’, Alan making enough noise in the living room that after about 30 minutes of hiding my head under pillows I am forced to rouse out of bed.
“7:30… UGH! Coffee, need coffee!” …
I just get settled on the couch, coffee and iPad in hand when bed head pup decides to make an appearance, she does her little muffie shuffle in front of me, dancing her front paws up and down on the faux wood floor…
“Tap, tap, tap.... Mommmm need to pee now ….. Mom, Mom, Mom….. now Mom noooowwww!”…..
“Pup…. go ask dad… mom needs coffee… shooo…. go, go…”
My admonishment is enough to get her to stop her dancing and tail wagging and look hopefully over her shoulder at Alan. She uses her big puppy eyes. He knows this game; he doesn’t look up, avoiding eye contact with the pleading pup….
“Dad?” …..
“Tell your mom dad’s busy plotting our route today”.
The pup hesitates and then turns back to me, desperation starting to creep in…
“Tap, tap, tap…… mom? ..... mom?..... tap, tap, tap…..PLEAAAAASSSSEEEEE….. MOM?” ….
“Sigh… oh all right…. hang on… who can resist such a cute fuzzy face…. let me at least take a sip of my coffee… slurrrrpp…. okay okay let’s gooo.”
The tapping converts to bouncing up and down wildly as I grab the leash and head for the door. 1 peed pup, 3 cups of coffee, and a microwave breakfast later, the house is fully stowed and ready to roll. Short drive today… 3.5 hrs. We are stopping in Lebanon TN as our Asheville reservations don’t start till tomorrow. We have spent the night at a little Navy base just outside of Memphis, Millington TN and must travel the side road to get back to I-40. It is nice and wide and mostly clear of traffic.
Alan and I communicate via walkie talkies as we move down the road. Since pup and I travel in the car behind Alan, she and I often engage in conversation to help pass the time. Sometimes the conversation is rather lengthy but the little girl is very good to remain engaged, her little ears perk up, her head bobs from side to side as if to say ‘really mom, that’s pretty interesting mom’ and ‘gosh mom I didn’t know that’.
“And we are off…. looks like a nice day pup…. what do you think? … yes, I see you agree… you are smacking your lips…. why are you smacking your lips… you already thirsty? Really… but we just got started? …. okay okay , hang on, mom has some water for you, let me put your bowl in the console…. hang on…. HANG ON…. CRAP ….geeezzzz…. at least it is only water… just a little cold…. and it will dry before mom has to get out the car again… no, no, nobody will think mom peed her pants….. no harm pup… you were a thirsty girl huh….. hmmmm … Mom needs to pay attention to the road now… looks like we have construction ahead… cop car ahead… best slowdown…. avoid the cones… be cool… almost there…. walkie talkie …walkie talkie… where is the damn walkie talkie……. Uh Babe, you just took the exit back to Memphis! Babe!?!”
Silence
“Alan? Did you hear me? Can you hear me?”
‘Uh, I screwed up… ‘
‘Say again…?’
‘I screwed up… 2 miles to get-well’.
Silence
“…it was the cop car and then the cones and the turn off was right after that mess and the GPS said to turn right, but I guess not this right the next right but the cop and the cones and the workers…. well I turned right… just the wrong right…. 1-mile to get-well.”
Silence
“Oh my…. trucks… lots and lots of trucks. Pup… have you seen so many big semi’s in one stretch….? THIS is going to be a fun drive…. DANG! Did you feel that pup, did you feel that whipple…? What’s a whipple? Why pup that is a wind ripple.... hold on…. here comes another one….. whoooosh…. whipple whipple ….. and another….whoooosh…. arrrghhh watch yourself buddy… that was a close one…. I may look small but that big rig in front of me… that’s my man, he will whip your ….. WHOOOSH…. Shit!”…
The walkie talkie echo’s my sentiment.
“You okay back there? THIS is going to be a fun drive.”
The pup has had enough excitement; she crawls to the back seat to put herself to sleep.
“‘Whooooaa Babe… did you see that car already… you almost turned into him!! He is trying to pass you.”
Silence
“That was intentional… the guy was sitting on my ass… I needed him to fall back or move on down the road… he was holding up traffic.”
Silence – me this time.
“Ah… okay then…good to know ‘
My adrenaline is now in full gear… did I mention the cops, the construction cones, the wrong turn, the trucks…. now we have cars trying to play chicken with the rig… geeeezzzz …. I look in the rear view and see two big trucks looming, the walkie talkie crackles…
“Neighbor Ron taught me that trick… see how the guy finally moved on around me?”….
“hhhmmmmm yea, let’s maybe not try that with one of these big boys okay sweetheart… my heart can’t stand the strain… and I can’t drive with my eyes closed!”
It would seem that the stretch of I-40 between Nashville and Memphis should be renamed TRUCK HIGHWAY. A never ending stream of them, going both west and east. Some travelling faster than us, many that are not… I tease but Alan is actually very good in his maneuvering of the rig, we pick up speed and fall in sync with the flow of the iron horse stampede...
“Sweetheart, darling…. can you give me a little more room when you pull back in front of the trucks? I know the bimmer is a baby car but really? Need just a little more space…. KABONK… Bang, Clunk ….. Geeeesh… folks around here don’t know about BUMP warning signs do they?”
Alan offers his insights…
“at least not as bad as a carrier landing… “
“KABONK…. whoooosh, whipple whipple”…..
Okay, now it is just all starting to become funny; all the trucks are morphing into this massive herd of iron horses and I have images of pilot Alan atop a big bronco … which in my imagination is a massive iron horse with F-16 wings…. (we are from Colorado and he was/is a military pilot)….. lasso is flying and he is wearing his Tilley hat…
“Yeeee Haawwwww…….. shaaaaaawhack” ….
The stampede gives way to the rig…. of course the imagery is helped along by the fact that I have country radio playing loudly, Blake Shelton, Boyz Down Here…. ‘chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco SPIT’ (pup is sleeping and well, I am in Tennessee… they only play country on the radio here)… my worlds are colliding…. trucks, planes, horses… country music ….. and the cops… did I mention the cops….we saw more cops in in a 3 hour stretch than we have seen travelling through 10 states over 4 months…….
“Whoooosh….whipple, whipple ….. K A band K A band”……
“AAAaaarrrgggghhh….. Get me outta here!”
Just about the time my adrenaline is peaking …. we turn off onto the newly completed 840 by-pass. Oh my. Oh my what a difference…. cue Tchaikovsky please…. a split, double-lane highway that seems to have been built just for us… wide open road surrounded by rolling green hills and nary a truck in site. …
“Aaaaahhhhh …. so maybe there is a God!”
We arrived at our campsite with no further excitement. It just happens to be situated as I-840 rejoins I-40. The park is much like a nice KOA…. gravel, slightly uneven sites, set on the side of a grassy hillside. The cool part is the rolling hills… we took a walk…. bathed in the green grass and let the strain of the day fade away.
The hour is now late, iron horse is in stable, fire water is in hand… tomorrow is another day… tomorrow we rejoin the stampede. Tomorrow we finish our last stretch of I-40 and hit our summer destination; Asheville.
So… how was your day?
Hugs and Love
Ann, Alan and the Muffin Pup.
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 10:53 PM
To: Friends & Family
Subject: So... how was your day?
The morning started out like most ‘move days’, Alan making enough noise in the living room that after about 30 minutes of hiding my head under pillows I am forced to rouse out of bed.
“7:30… UGH! Coffee, need coffee!” …
I just get settled on the couch, coffee and iPad in hand when bed head pup decides to make an appearance, she does her little muffie shuffle in front of me, dancing her front paws up and down on the faux wood floor…
“Tap, tap, tap.... Mommmm need to pee now ….. Mom, Mom, Mom….. now Mom noooowwww!”…..
“Pup…. go ask dad… mom needs coffee… shooo…. go, go…”
My admonishment is enough to get her to stop her dancing and tail wagging and look hopefully over her shoulder at Alan. She uses her big puppy eyes. He knows this game; he doesn’t look up, avoiding eye contact with the pleading pup….
“Dad?” …..
“Tell your mom dad’s busy plotting our route today”.
The pup hesitates and then turns back to me, desperation starting to creep in…
“Tap, tap, tap…… mom? ..... mom?..... tap, tap, tap…..PLEAAAAASSSSEEEEE….. MOM?” ….
“Sigh… oh all right…. hang on… who can resist such a cute fuzzy face…. let me at least take a sip of my coffee… slurrrrpp…. okay okay let’s gooo.”
The tapping converts to bouncing up and down wildly as I grab the leash and head for the door. 1 peed pup, 3 cups of coffee, and a microwave breakfast later, the house is fully stowed and ready to roll. Short drive today… 3.5 hrs. We are stopping in Lebanon TN as our Asheville reservations don’t start till tomorrow. We have spent the night at a little Navy base just outside of Memphis, Millington TN and must travel the side road to get back to I-40. It is nice and wide and mostly clear of traffic.
Alan and I communicate via walkie talkies as we move down the road. Since pup and I travel in the car behind Alan, she and I often engage in conversation to help pass the time. Sometimes the conversation is rather lengthy but the little girl is very good to remain engaged, her little ears perk up, her head bobs from side to side as if to say ‘really mom, that’s pretty interesting mom’ and ‘gosh mom I didn’t know that’.
“And we are off…. looks like a nice day pup…. what do you think? … yes, I see you agree… you are smacking your lips…. why are you smacking your lips… you already thirsty? Really… but we just got started? …. okay okay , hang on, mom has some water for you, let me put your bowl in the console…. hang on…. HANG ON…. CRAP ….geeezzzz…. at least it is only water… just a little cold…. and it will dry before mom has to get out the car again… no, no, nobody will think mom peed her pants….. no harm pup… you were a thirsty girl huh….. hmmmm … Mom needs to pay attention to the road now… looks like we have construction ahead… cop car ahead… best slowdown…. avoid the cones… be cool… almost there…. walkie talkie …walkie talkie… where is the damn walkie talkie……. Uh Babe, you just took the exit back to Memphis! Babe!?!”
Silence
“Alan? Did you hear me? Can you hear me?”
‘Uh, I screwed up… ‘
‘Say again…?’
‘I screwed up… 2 miles to get-well’.
Silence
“…it was the cop car and then the cones and the turn off was right after that mess and the GPS said to turn right, but I guess not this right the next right but the cop and the cones and the workers…. well I turned right… just the wrong right…. 1-mile to get-well.”
Silence
“Oh my…. trucks… lots and lots of trucks. Pup… have you seen so many big semi’s in one stretch….? THIS is going to be a fun drive…. DANG! Did you feel that pup, did you feel that whipple…? What’s a whipple? Why pup that is a wind ripple.... hold on…. here comes another one….. whoooosh…. whipple whipple ….. and another….whoooosh…. arrrghhh watch yourself buddy… that was a close one…. I may look small but that big rig in front of me… that’s my man, he will whip your ….. WHOOOSH…. Shit!”…
The walkie talkie echo’s my sentiment.
“You okay back there? THIS is going to be a fun drive.”
The pup has had enough excitement; she crawls to the back seat to put herself to sleep.
“‘Whooooaa Babe… did you see that car already… you almost turned into him!! He is trying to pass you.”
Silence
“That was intentional… the guy was sitting on my ass… I needed him to fall back or move on down the road… he was holding up traffic.”
Silence – me this time.
“Ah… okay then…good to know ‘
My adrenaline is now in full gear… did I mention the cops, the construction cones, the wrong turn, the trucks…. now we have cars trying to play chicken with the rig… geeeezzzz …. I look in the rear view and see two big trucks looming, the walkie talkie crackles…
“Neighbor Ron taught me that trick… see how the guy finally moved on around me?”….
“hhhmmmmm yea, let’s maybe not try that with one of these big boys okay sweetheart… my heart can’t stand the strain… and I can’t drive with my eyes closed!”
It would seem that the stretch of I-40 between Nashville and Memphis should be renamed TRUCK HIGHWAY. A never ending stream of them, going both west and east. Some travelling faster than us, many that are not… I tease but Alan is actually very good in his maneuvering of the rig, we pick up speed and fall in sync with the flow of the iron horse stampede...
“Sweetheart, darling…. can you give me a little more room when you pull back in front of the trucks? I know the bimmer is a baby car but really? Need just a little more space…. KABONK… Bang, Clunk ….. Geeeesh… folks around here don’t know about BUMP warning signs do they?”
Alan offers his insights…
“at least not as bad as a carrier landing… “
“KABONK…. whoooosh, whipple whipple”…..
Okay, now it is just all starting to become funny; all the trucks are morphing into this massive herd of iron horses and I have images of pilot Alan atop a big bronco … which in my imagination is a massive iron horse with F-16 wings…. (we are from Colorado and he was/is a military pilot)….. lasso is flying and he is wearing his Tilley hat…
“Yeeee Haawwwww…….. shaaaaaawhack” ….
The stampede gives way to the rig…. of course the imagery is helped along by the fact that I have country radio playing loudly, Blake Shelton, Boyz Down Here…. ‘chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco SPIT’ (pup is sleeping and well, I am in Tennessee… they only play country on the radio here)… my worlds are colliding…. trucks, planes, horses… country music ….. and the cops… did I mention the cops….we saw more cops in in a 3 hour stretch than we have seen travelling through 10 states over 4 months…….
“Whoooosh….whipple, whipple ….. K A band K A band”……
“AAAaaarrrgggghhh….. Get me outta here!”
Just about the time my adrenaline is peaking …. we turn off onto the newly completed 840 by-pass. Oh my. Oh my what a difference…. cue Tchaikovsky please…. a split, double-lane highway that seems to have been built just for us… wide open road surrounded by rolling green hills and nary a truck in site. …
“Aaaaahhhhh …. so maybe there is a God!”
We arrived at our campsite with no further excitement. It just happens to be situated as I-840 rejoins I-40. The park is much like a nice KOA…. gravel, slightly uneven sites, set on the side of a grassy hillside. The cool part is the rolling hills… we took a walk…. bathed in the green grass and let the strain of the day fade away.
The hour is now late, iron horse is in stable, fire water is in hand… tomorrow is another day… tomorrow we rejoin the stampede. Tomorrow we finish our last stretch of I-40 and hit our summer destination; Asheville.
So… how was your day?
Hugs and Love
Ann, Alan and the Muffin Pup.