Images from a day in the life......

Lunch at The famed Moosewood Restaurant

Nap at the Cornell Plantations

Mint Chocolate Chip shake at the Cornell Dairy Bar

Dinner time for Raymond Louis B.n as fed by parents Mike and Michelle

Vegetables and Fruits

Being on the road, one tends to be sedentary and eat CRAP. I pulled into Mike and Michelle's having realized that I hadn't eaten anything resembling a piece of something grown from the soil in probably three or four days. That BLT with fries I had at the reststop in Ohio was not sitting real well.

Michelle fixed me a small salad and a nectarine. It's as if my body was craving something healthy. I immediately felt better; I can't believe it was that tangible. I need to make a decision to eat better from here on.

Back on the road again.....What?

Stephen (we all know who he is now), quoted to me on the phone that to have the parts for the car expedited an to the dealership by Thursday the 24th would cost $420. At first, I was fine with it. However, I realized as I was going to sleep that I probably could rent a car for that price. I checked around and found that I could rent a car for 19 days for $650. So that's what I have done.

My original plan was to return to Indiana on July 11th and take a weeklong woodworking class in a town about three hours south of South Bend. By expediting the parts and trying to get on the road by this Saturday the 26th, I was asking Stephen and his mechanics to build me a new engine in a day and a half. That was pushing it. So since I was coming back through Indiana, I decided to rent a car and drive around the East Coast in the rental car. By 11:30AM, I was on the road again. I'll see Stephen and my new engine/car on July 12th.

I drove all afternoon and into the early evening to arrive in Ithaca, NY. Home of my alma mater, Cornell University and my college friends Mike and Michelle.

It was a gorgeous day and and I was reminded of just how beautiful the Southern Tier of Upstate New York is. Most people when they drive through Upstate New York take I-90 (Thurway). Instead, a more scenic option is to take Route 17 (aka Interstate 86) through Jamestown and Corning.

The beauty of the Southern Tier

This area was one of the first frontiers in American history. It remains thickly settled, with many small towns dotting the well maintained countryside. It's off the beaten path, but certainly should not be forgotten.

An afternoon in South Bend, IN

After finishing up business with Stephen at the Subaru dealership, I hopped on the bike and went back and checked into the same Motel 6 room as the night before. On my way, I decided to get a haircut. New engine, new haircut, I saw the connection. Now most of you know that South Bend is the home of the famed University of Notre Dame. Here are some pictures:

The entrance to The University of Notre Dame


The dome on the central building on campus. This is probably why the Fighting Irish helmets are gold, eh?


I think this mural is painted on the side of the library.


Basketball and Indiana

Right on the edge of campus, literally a hop, skip and jump away from the library is the famed University of Notre Dame football stadium. One of my top five favorite movies, Rudy is a true story about a kid who's sole dream was to play for the Notre Dame football team. It also was filmed here on campus. The first time I watched it, I bawled. It's cheesy, but then again, I'm a sucker for cheese.

So much history.....


Hallowed grounds.....

From campus, I rode about five miles to get to the "big" mall that the woman at Motel 6 told me about. I was hoping to find a Starbucks or Borders to get onto the Internet. The mall was a BIG disappointment. I must say that in this vulnerable time of having my car meltdown and being alone in an unknown city, I was comforted by knowing that I was going to a mall. The greatest disappointment of the mall was the movie theater choices. The Passion of the Christ, New York Minute and Hellboy. I skipped the movie.

I rode back to the Motel 6 and saw that the Hampton Inn across the way was advertising high-speed internet in every room. I cleaned myself up after dinner and walked right into the lobby/bar and plopped down to do what I needed to do. I'm learning how to pilfer wireless internet.

It must be something about that summer solctice....

It was Monday June 21st, 2004. The longest day of this year 2004. I was driving east through Illinois and crossed into Indiana. I decided that instead of heading into Ohio and going south of Lake Erie, I would veer north, through Michigan and cross into Upstate NY via Niagara Falls. The best laid plans...........

About 6PM Eastern Time (Michigan is on Eastern time) I was about 15 miles into the State of Michigan, way down there in the SW corner. All of a sudden I heard the engine of my car clicking. I stepped on the gas and nothing happened. At this point, I knew that it was time for me to pull off to the side of the freeway and get some help. As I stopped the car, it started to smoke from the engine. Luckily, it stopped after about five minutes.

I called AAA and they sent a truck for me. I had found a Subaru dealership in Kalamazoo, MI, which was about 75 miles further east of where I was on I-94. In my great planning, I had purchased the AAA Plus membership, which gave the the right to be towed up to 100 miles at no charge. When Randy (of Randy's Auto Service) arrived about an hour and fifteen minutes later, I was still calm. In fact, I am quite proud of how calm I am still.

He told me that there was a Subaru dealership only 30 miles from where I broke down. The reason AAA didn't tell me over the phone is that this dealership was in Indiana. During my tow, Randy briefed me completely on the NASCAR race he went to the Saturday before and I now know all about a racer from South Bend, IN named Randy Newman. But, I digress.

I arrived at the Subaru dealership as it was closing. I packed a bag of things, pulled my bike off the top of the car and rode down the highway to the Motel 6. I was in for the night. This morning, I went back up and spent the majority of the day in the Subaru dealership.

There is good news and some bummer news. The good news first, how about that? The car, at the time of breakdown, had 58,800 miles and was just four years old. In addition, I had also had the 60,000 mile major checkup done on the car on June 4th, a mere three weeks ago. I brought all that paperwork with me. Turns out, there was either little or no coolant in the radiator and the engine overheated and burned up. Yup, it basically melted. The car has a 5 year, 60,000 mile warranty. And since I had all my maintenance records, I will pay NOTHING for the repairs. I'm basically getting a new engine built (essentially a new car) here in South Bend. We are all big fans of Mr. Stephen B. of Subaru of Michiana. He has been on my side the entire time and it took the better part of a day, but we are now on the road to getting my car back on the road. Because Stephen has to order parts, it will take a couple days to get to South Bend. I will pay for the expedited shipping as well as for a new timing belt. The parts will get here Thursday the 24th. (Happy Birthday, Mom!!). Hopefully, he and his mechanics can get me back on the road by Friday the 25th.

The bummer is that I will not get to see my friends Mike, Michelle and their new son, Ray, in Ithaca. I also will miss out on seeing my high school advisor Anne S. in Vermont. I will getting all the downtime, now, here in Indiana. It's going to be and Indiana summer, considering I'm going to be back 100 miles south of here in three weeks.

So, I'll check in with Stephen tomorrow morning and then rent a car and drive up to the resort areas around Saugatuck, MI, which is the Provincetown of the Midwest. I'll stay up there tomorrow night and then return sometime Thursday afternoon.

I am quite zen about this entire experience. I haven't gotten mad, there really is nothing to get mad about! Yes, I will admit, I did get a bit antsy today because I just wanted there to be answers and progress, but I was quite patient. In the end, I'm getting a new engine out of the experience and I get to see some of the sights around the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. I'm also biking all around the city of South Bend and thank god it's FLAT.

All in all, just part of the great crazy journey I have embarked on.

Choices, Choices, Choices

I reached the Nebraska/Iowa border and had choices to make. If I took the northern route, I would get to see the Field of Dreams baseball diamond in Dyersville, IA. If I took the central route, I could see the Bridges of Madison County. If I took the southern route, I could cross the Mississippi River at Fort Madison and go to Nauvoo, IL to see where Mormon church was founded. Who thought I would have such choices in the state of Iowa?

I caved and took I-80, the central route. It took me to Madison County, IA, which is just southeast of Des Moines.

Hogback Covered Bridge in Madison County, IA

John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, IA. (Still having some problems with the camera)

I continued on I-80 to Iowa City, IA where I had a great dinner of sushi. Yes, good sushi can be found in Iowa. I found Iowa City to be beautiful and clean. I think that is the mark of most midwestern college towns. The scenery (in all facets if you know what I mean :) ) is spectacular as well. The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City and their mascot is the Jayhawk. All through town, there are statues of the Jayhawk dressed in different garb.

The University of Iowa Jayhawk dressed as a ???

There is a map that you can get to try and track down all the Jayhawk statues. I didn't have the time, though.

Genoa, NE

The central Nebraska landscape is dominated by the many braided rivers that serve as breeding ground for birds. Here is a picture of the Loup River that runs through Genoa, NE.

The Loup River

Genoa, NE also claims itself to be the Pawnee capital of Nebraska. From what I gathered, the Pawnee's used to inhabit this part of Nebraska until the settlers came in and moved the Pawnee south to Kansas and Oklahoma. However, there was a woman who decided the Pawnee boys and girls needed to be educated in the western way and so she got the government to give her money to set up and Indian School in Genoa.

The last remaining building of the US Indian School complex

During the 1860's the Pawnee's were sent to school here. They boarded here and were required to wear military looking dress. From the historical pictures I saw, they also were required to do military looking marches. Within a couple decades, the education of Pawnee's at this school was abandoned, although this one building remains.

I must comment about this incredible desire to educate people in the Western educational manner. This is also a theme in White Teeth. Why do we impose our knowledge upon others?

Small town American life

One of my habits on this trip is to pick up the local newspaper of the places I stop to visit and the places where I stop to eat. I have always found the local news and personal stories in newspapers fascinating. Perhaps that is why I always read the local section (the B pages) of the SF Chronicle first? Small communities are vibrant and dynamic places, even though it doesn't look like it on the outside. The facade may be one of sleepy main streets, but just as the case is everywhere, there is lots going on beneath the surface. I know that it is true for me, and perhaps many of us big city dwellers, that I carry a stereotype of small towns being boring or uninteresting. They are interesting in different ways, but also very much the same as large metro areas.

I have two papers with me at the moment, that I have kept in my travels, the Sterling, CO Journal-Advocate and the Genoa, NE Leader-Times. In it there are stories about high-school reunions and taxes to pay for new hospital services. But in both papers there is a story which has the theme of essentially, "how can we remain a vibrant community both economically and culturally?" Isn't that a question for all communities, large and small?

Lastly, I want to share with you an advertisement I saw in the Genoa paper"

Come to a Hometown Tasty
And Buy a chance on a
$1.00 Raffle to win a non confinement, non medicated, butcher hog

We will haul to locker,
winner pays own processing bill
Drawing held on the 4th of July

That's a lot of bacon!

A Smith family wedding

The first real stop of this two month tour was to bring my friend Michael to wedding reception of his nephew Tommy and Tommy's new wife Jennifer in Genoa, NE. Genoa is a town of about 1,000 between Grand Island and Columbus. Tommy is now 24, but I met him back when he was a 19 year old wide-eyed kid from Monroe, NE. TOMMY.

Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, Michael was unable to make the trip, so he sent me along with some gifts and boxes to deliver to the Smith family and told me to attend the reception anyway. Since I have met most of Michael's family at some point, it seemed natural for me to go.

I arrived on Friday evening at 7PM, was eating dinner by 715PM and at the reception hall at 8PM setting up chairs and getting the St. Rose of Lima community center ready for the big day. On Saturday morning, I biked the three miles to the center to help with set-up again. This time, I was in charge of sweeping the hall and setting out the candy kisses on the table. Big stuff!!

Tommy and Jenn actually got married last June in Omaha. He was to be assigned to the National Guard and they wanted to get married before he got his papers. Where did he get assigned? Wisconsin! Two weeks ago the bride and groom renewed their vows in a church ceremony in Cheyenne, WY, where Jennifer grew up. This reception I attended was for the Nebraska side of the family, Tommy's neck of the woods. I joked with Tommy and Jenn that they needed to dedicate their marriage to I-80.

The bride and groom

The mother of the groom, Michael's sister Chris

The groom and his grandmother

Erin (Michael's youngest sister) and Logan (Michael's nephew and Tommy's cousin)

Now, the highlight and main event of this reception is the Smith family tradition of a mock wedding. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Uncle John dressed as the bride

Michael's brother-in-law Lenny and the "bride"

Even though the Smith's aren't Jewish, doesn't this look like a horah?

(I apologize for the lousy pictures. I'm still learning how to use my camera!)

Who said there isn't cross dressing the heartland?????? I had a great time with the Smith family. Thanks to them for being such wonderful hosts and letting an acquaintance be a part of their family time. Michael, yes, you are right, your family is a bit nuts. But I think we all have families like this and would we want it any other way?

The "gap"ing of gay entertainment?

After two days of camping and time in the arid and lightly populated American west, I climbed over the Rockies and descended into The Mile High city of Denver. I met up and stayed with my friend Dave and his friend up from Colorado Springs, Eddie.

My friend Dave

My new friend Eddie
After dining on Mexican food, the three of us started our evening at JR's Bar and Grill. JR's also has establishments in both DC and Chicago. From there we progressed to Charlies, THE place to be in Denver on a Thursday night. Charlie's is a "complex". It has two dance floors, three bars, pool tables, a back patio and other places that I didn't necessarily see. Charlie's also has locations in Phoenix and Austin. Now, as you know, I am not necessarily one to make judgements about things, I just like to understand how they fit into a larger social context.

So as a high school teacher, I see certain small groups of students get marginalized. These kids dress differently and talk about things that aren't what the more "mainstream" kids are talking about. It is these "edge" groups that often have more colorful personalities, take chances with thought, and obviously standout from a crowd. My sense is that the gay world used to be just like this marginalized group of kids. We were definately more "weirder" and had lots more personality and less sanitized. My sense is that the Castro in SF has definately become less personable and more "mainstream". I come to Denver and can go to JR's or Charlie's and I know what I'm going to find. Just like I can go to the Gap or McDonalds anywhere in the USA and know what I'm going to get. Is it a good thing or bad thing that gay entertainment now has this element of consistency? Who knows, but it is another indication that gays and gay culture are becoming more like the rest of America.

So what about the night itself? I have to say that the crowd that was out in Denver was much more real looking that what one finds in places like SF or NYC. Men of all shapes and sizes were there and it made the whole experience less intimidating/offputting. I enjoyed watching all the scenery go by, and have to say that I did find amusing the whole cowboy culture. Many times I just would see a cute guy and the cowboy hat on his head would just make me laugh. Point of fact, I was one of two Asian men in either bar and one of perhaps 10 men of color I saw the entire evening.

Lastly, I found the bars here in Denver (and I assume I'll find this to be the case in cities except for SF or NYC) that because land is not as much as a premium, the spaces are bigger and less claustrophobic. The night was fun, highlighted by Eddie and I trying to predict the profession of a cute cowboy. I thought he was a social worker and Eddie predicted investment guy. I took the situation into my own hands and went up to ask the cowboy what he did for work. Rob, the cowboy, was a personal banker and personal trainer who had one time been a 7th grade teacher. So, we called it a tie. However, just like it always seems to be, the mystery of Rob was better than the real Rob.

John Wesley Powell

I am a geologist by training. Some of you probably didn't know that, eh? Well, one of my hero's in the world is a man named John Wesley Powell. On Thursday June 17th, as I was driving east on I-70 through central Utah, I stopped for gas in a town called Green River, UT and lo and behold they have an entire museum dedicated to him.

John Wesley Powell has a museum!
Anyway, why all the fuss about him? Well, he was a professor at Illinois Wesleyan University in the late 1860's and got a grant from the US government to do a study of the vast unknown (at that time) study of the area of the map that is now Utah and Arizona. Side note: he lost one of his arms below the elbow at the Battle of Shiloh and did all this exploration with one arm.

In 1869, he and a crew of men were the first to navigate the entire Colorado River. They started in Wyoming and went through what is now called "The Gates of Lodore". In 1996, during my Outward Bound leadership course, our group navigated this exact stretch, so I feel a kinship with Powell. Powell's trip was arduous and he had a couple mutinies along the way, but he and a couple of his men did make it to the through the Grand Canyon. In 1871, with more money and fewer problems, Powell navigated the river again. This time doing much more extensive scientific research and mapping. Stud!

After these huge successes, Powell became well known and powerful in Washington, DC, eventually serving as the head of the US Geological Survey.

May I suggest a couple books. To read about Powell and his adventures on the river read Beyond the 100th Meridian by Wallace Stegner. To read about the history of water resource management in the west, read Cadillac Desert by Marc Reiser. Both are excellent.