Roadtriplogue

One night in Kansas and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free

It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it? I am 159 miles from the Colorado border and can push on no longer, so a night in Kansas it is.

Historically, travelers stocked up in St. Louis before heading out west, so it seemed like a worthwhile tradition to emulate. My morning began with a Trader Joe’s run for Cliff bars, granola bars, peanut butter, mesquite honey, dried fruit and nuts, and a couple of bottles of wine.

Missouri was a pretty enough drive and I even made a pit stop at Mizzou, i.e. Missouri University, to drive around the campus, only to be stopped by about 150 students in graduation garb. Idling on the street waiting for the procession to pass, I broke into a cold sweat. It appears that I still have a ways to go in coming to terms with the idea of going back to school.

And then I hit Kansas. Let’s see … President Eisenhower, Bob Dole and Arlen Specter were all born here. Yeah, that’s about as interesting as it gets. And while I entertained the idea of pushing to Colorado tonight, I have also come to admit that it’s possible, that just maybe, my “allergies” is in fact a cold that has been brewing for a couple of days. The most compelling clue was the fact that even though I had hardly eaten all day, I’m not particularly cranky, just tired.

Every now and again, i.e. when I don’t have a choice, I listen to my body so it’s time to take it easy, get into bed before 9 PM, and sleep in. This is officially my memo to myself demanding, no excuse me, commanding compliance and better health by morning. I don’t have time to get sick, for goodness’ sake!

Hey, hey … maybe I am a little cranky after all.