Revising history

I pulled that last entry off. Too damn petty and negative. So what if the woman eats crackers in bed? I probably do a lot of shit she doesn't particularly care for either, but she doesn't whine about it.

BTW, I reported the missing credit card the day after I arrived home. Not one charge had been made on it, so obviously it fell out somewhere and either wasn't discovered or was found by someone without criminal tendencies.

Whatever, I received a replacement via UPS the very next day -- if that's not customer service I don't know what the hell is!

I suppose they love the way I charge things. But I don't run much of a balance, usually pay things off quickly. I used to keep it paid up on every billing cycle, but what the hell, it's only fair to let them make a few bucks occasionally for the service they provide. I don't have a problem with that.

I've got the notion of buying a new laptop on my mind. I don't need one, the old one still works fine. But you know how that goes. Sometimes, we just want something new just for the hell of it. More bells and whistles. A bigger hard drive and more RAM. Damn, that almost sounds sexual.

If my computer didn't have more "ram" than I've got at this point in the game, I'd be writing with a fucking pencil.

Let's don't even talk about the hard drive....

Trip recap

Back home in the cold...20 degrees this morning (dropped a degree after I arose) and high going up to a balmy 36 later today. Screw that, I'm about ready to hop the bird back west.

Flight home was a bit more exciting than trip out, mainly because of the weather. Coming into Cincinnati, the pilot had the nose of the 737 about 30 degrees left in a big crab because of the wind just prior to flaring out. Freaking cold rain blowing, but he kicked right rudder and set that rumbling son of a bitch down perfectly, though we did some bouncing around in the wind. And the landing at Nashville was equally bothersome, bad weather there too and the Bombardier was a hell of a lot lighter and hinkier, but as pilots say, any landing you walk away from is a good one. I've made a few landings in a light plane in good weather that were a hell of a lot closer to disasters than these pros did in big planes in foul weather.

In fact, we were about an hour late getting into Nashville. There was some problem with weight and balance issues on the flight before we left Cincy. The flight attendant announced that and asked for two volunteers to leave the plane, noting they would be put up in a hotel, given meals, provided with a free flight the next day and $200 cash. Nobody volunteered and about 20 minutes later she announced that she was going to call two names and those people would have to leave the plane. I kept a tight ass hoping Jazzbo wouldn't be one of the names, since I had a ride en route to Nashville in a blowing storm and sure enough I lucked out. The two guys selected left the plane without much complaint, seeing as how nowadays raising a fuss aboard a plane can result in federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and mucho time behind fed bars.

The security check in San Diego returning was a bit busier than was Nashville on the flight out. There were four long lines going through, but I was lined up probably 15 or 20 minutes before making my way into the airport. I'd frankly been put off air travel since 9-11 because of what I thought was a much bigger security hassle. I must say, my experience didn't come close to some of the horror stories I've read about TSA personnel giving travelers a ration of shit or being rude. All the ones I observed were very polite and professional, and I suspect the people who have had problems brought those problems on themselves via a bad attitude. Same with flight attendants, all were very nice and accommodating.

Another great thing I discovered is online check-in. Did that on the trip back, got my boarding passes printed and paid for luggage before I ever left the house. (Delta seems to be one of the few airlines that charges even for your first bag -- $25 if you check it at the airport and $15 if checked online. I'll likely use another airline if I travel again because of that.) Once at Dago, it was just a matter of dropping my luggage off at the kiosk outside the terminal and smoking a couple of weeds before going in and queuing up for security.

I didn't do a lot of drinking while I was gone. I had a couple of $7.50 glasses of beer at Cincinnati, as the tavern was adjacent to my gate. They were tall glasses, not your typical small beer glass. Going out, I had one Black Jack and water on the Airbus out of Minneapolis. At $7, it was cheaper than the beer. And while in CA, I had 25 beers over the three weeks -- which is quitting in Jazzbo terms. I know exactly how many I had because I bought two 12-packs and had one with a meal at "Burgers & Beer," where one can get a burger, fries and beer for about $20. It's a hell of a lot better burger than the modern In-N-Out, which proved to be something of a disappointment, if vastly cheaper.

Hell, the Big Mac I had at a Mickey D's just west of Nashville on the way home beat the hell out of the In-Out. Their burgers have changed since the sixties and not for the better.

Next order of business is to unpack my suitcase. Nah, I haven't even done that yet. All I managed yesterday was a trip out for some cold cuts and bread and a 12-pack. Gotta get my ass in gear, having company staying the weekend.

Yeah, it may get wild on the Jazzbo homestead. She's bringing Beam, among other things.

(Christ, just heard pounding on front door. It was UPS with an express envelope containing my replacement credit card. Now that's what I call service! Guess they like the way I charge shit. heh)




Tue, Nov 17, 2009 Nashville, (BNA) to San Diego International, (SAN)
Depart: 01:30 PM Nashville, TN (BNA) Delta Air Lines
Arrive: 03:54 PM Minneapolis, MN (MSP) Flight 2983 operated by
COMPASS AIRLINES (on Embraer EMB 175 Jet)
1 Stop - change planes Minneapolis, MN (MSP) Connection Time: 1 hr 16 mins

Depart: 05:10 PM Minneapolis, MN (MSP) Delta Air Lines
Arrive: 07:12 PM San Diego, CA (SAN) Flight 2440 operated by
NORTHWEST AIRLINES (on Airbus A320-100/200)
Total Travel Time: 7 hrs 42 mins

Tue, Dec 8, 2009 San Diego International, (SAN) to Nashville, (BNA)
Depart: 11:35 AM San Diego, CA (SAN) Delta Air Lines
Arrive: 06:41 PM Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Flight 1551
(on Boeing 737 800)
Requested Seats: 20C 1 Stop - change planes Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Connection Time: 1 hr 24 mins

Depart: 08:05 PM Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Delta Air Lines
Arrive: 08:15 PM Nashville, TN (BNA) Flight 4629 operated by
SKYWEST AIRLINES (on Canadair Regional Jet)
Requested Seats: 11C Total Travel Time: 6 hrs 40 mins

Winding down

A couple more days and the visit is finis. It’s been fun, though I wish I’d brought some warmer clothes for these evenings and for days like this -- another chilly one in the mid-50s, though it’s supposed to warm up about 10 more degrees this afternoon.

Nothing on the agenda today so far as I know. Went to my son’s new home in Brawley last night and had a nice carne asada dinner. Of course, I ate too much. Nothing new there. Tomorrow is a fund-raiser spaghetti dinner and auction, which I’ll probably attend; it’s a church thing, but don’t know if I’ll go to church beforehand or not. Might, might not. May depend more on how I feel. This cold I got last Wednesday is still hanging on, though I feel much better than I did initially.

I brought four cartons of smokes with me (mailed them actually) and near enough to running out that I bought a carton of Marlboros yesterday. Normally, in three weeks I’d smoke six cartons, so I’ve cut back a bit. Got the Marlboros for a little over $40, which is cheaper than Tennessee prices. They don’t compare to the taste of my America Gold, however, and I’d hate to know I had to smoke them from now on.

Picked up the biggest flat-rate box at the post office yesterday. Monday, I’ll pack up my cameras, chargers and cords and a few things and put them in the mail. They should arrive home Wednesday, the day after I get there.

Weather forecast for Tuesday in Tennessee is rain in the evening turning to possible freezing rain after midnight. My flight arrives in Nashville at 8:30 pm and I’m hoping the freezing crap holds off until I can get home around 11 or so. Be a bitch to drive than far on an ice-coated road. Nearly impossible, in fact, although it has to get pretty bad to shut down Interstate 40.

Oh well. Whatever. Take it as it comes.

Luck runs out

Just my luck. Woke up a couple days ago with a terrible chest cold. First one since 2004. At least it waited until near the end of my visit. But I need to get this cough under control before I go to the airport; many times now they will put you off a plane if you exhibit signs of a severe cold or flu.

There were several people on the flight from Nashville to Minneapolis that were coughing rather badly, however, so maybe I can skate through. Or may be I should just drink a bottle of that bad ass cough syrup just before arriving at the airport. Get all wired up on it and hijack the plane to Cuba or somewhere.

Nah, that’s doesn’t sound like a good idea. I doubt Fidel would welcome me with open arms. Or Raul, either. And the powers that be also won’t let you on the plane if you appear wasted.

That’s a change from the days of old, when I used to spend all my extra time at the airport in the lounge. I’ve been poured on a few flights. Had a terrible verbal run-in with a flight attendant once on a flight from LA to Memphis over the change I had coming back from a C-note, which I’d used to buy a round of drinks for myself and my seat-mates. Screamed at and cursed her, called her a fucking crook.

Yes, I was juiced totally. She was trying to cheat me out of my $90 or so. No need to “wait until we land” to get my change. She had a pocketful by then, from all the drinks she’d served. God knows how much extra money she picked up on the side with that scam.

That wouldn’t happen nowadays. They merely land at the nearest airport and take your ass into custody for “interfering with a flight crew.” Federal lockup and looking at long years in Slam City. It doesn’t pay to look at a stew sideways. They have you by the short hairs. A little provocation and they will pull.

Hell no, I don’t need that change. You keep it. Here’s my wallet, if you need any more just grab it. I would give you my credit card too, but I lost the son of a bitch! My bank account number? Sure, you got a pen? Here ya go....


I was talking to Gwen last night. She said there was a possibility of snowflakes on the old home range. Damn, gonna be a dab of weather shock, going from this warmth back into a typical Tennessee winter.

Oh well, I’ve weathered a bunch of them. I’ve enjoyed my trip, but have the feeling it’s time to get back home and back into the saddle. Lots of work to do.

I have to find that rhythm I had over the summer, when I wrote two books. Get back into the flow of things, stay on schedule.

I can do it, because I have. But it’s not the easiest place to get back to.