How I Spent Vacation

No, it wasn't a "vacation" -- it was actually an "emergency family crisis trip", but "vacation" fit better in the little title-field here.

TUES, 10/25
Fly to Lubbock, TX where my brother lives. He flew to Israel the previous day to attend our grandmother's funeral. His wife was to pick me up at the airport, but her baby girl's doctor appt ran late. Very late. They picked me up 2+ hrs later. Anyway, it left me plenty of time to drink in the beauty & charm that is Lubbock. (sarcasm, folks) Actually, it left me vulnerable to the chatty-kathy kindness of several men.

Meet JOEL: a really handsome fella, but looks a bit older & wears a business suit. Chatty-Joel decides to sit on my bench (all the others were empty) waiting for his ride, and coyly chats me up. My sister-in-law was shocked by how much he must've talked to me in the span of 20 minutes, considering how much info I now knew about this stranger. He's 32, from Dallas (raised in Kansas City), in Lubbock for a presentation at a pharmaceutical company, feels too old to enjoy a city as lively as NYC, a stranger he wasn't sure he'd recognize was picking him up, he was staying at the Embassy Suites... believe me, there was a LOT more, but I've since forgotten. Anyway, Joel is m-a-r-r-i-e-d. The big fat ring on his finger tells me so. Now, I'm not saying married men can't be polite & friendly (and anyway, I really wasn't interested - amazing what having someone else on your mind does to your interest in the 'prowl'), but hello? He was doing what I'd categorize as 'close-talking'. Maybe my perception of 'polite' has been skewed from living in NY this long, but I'm pretty damn sure the man was flirting. He sure was pretty.....

Meet the SOLDIERS: there's a base in Lubbock, so HumV's and other military vehicles are always picking up personnel at the airport. These fellas talked about: where their hometowns get their water (interesting topic to my brother & dad, at least); how military officially states a soldier could live on a max of 33 days of RPMs (rations - MRE/Meals Ready-to-Eat) but that they've heard the army has been giving soldiers in Iraq 2-3 months of RPMs; one soldier said he's so poor he'll take any handout the army offers incl. taking home free RPMs for himself & his wife; how much they hate this sort of pick-up duty (Beavis interrupts: "she said pickup doody... hehhh...") delaying their dinner; etc. When my ride finally arrived, they all blushed & apologized for anything they said that might've given me a terrible impression of military men.

WED - SAT, 10/26-11/5
Helped out my sister-in-law with their 2 babies as best I could. Felt like Suzy-homemaker after a while... washed dishes, laundry, wiped counters & tables & floors & chairs endlessly (I'm a bit of a clean-freak), sang to them, changed (just!) 1 or 2 diapers, gave them baths, fed the toddler, took him on walks around the reservoir, played in the backyard & playground, made stuffed grape leaves from scratch, grocery shopping, etc.

My brother returned from Israel on Friday, 10/28; we flew a kite that evening. Saturday evening we went to a drive-in movie (my first ever). Always wanted to, but the one in my hometown closed down before I could drive. We also had my first (and probably last) Fried Twinkie. I much preferred the funnel cake.

Sunday we all went to a corn-maze. Would probably have been more fun without the vicious 'dry mosquitos' inside the cornfield - we only did 1/2 the maze by the time my nephew got bored. They also had this weird 'skeet shooting' thing, where they actually launched corn cobs hundreds of feet, aimed at targets out in a cornfield. Then there was a rock-climbing tower, which my brother conquered twice - in dress shoes. Lastly, a "no left turn" maze for kids (IMHO, an homage to NJ driving).

Trip continues on to FL - see next post...