84 Jam Sandwich
I finally made it to Portland after spending three and a half hours in a traffic jam on interstate 84 west, just one hour from downtown. A hay truck caught on fire in the middle of a one lane workzone about three miles ahead of us, creating a 20 mile long tailgate party. This was not your normal, run of the mill, traffic jam. As we added our vehicle to the line of stranded travelers, I noticed up ahead that everyone was out of their cars. Amazingly, no one seemed bummed out to be stuck in traffic, it was as if everyone had embraced the fact that they were stuck and they weren’t going to let this ruin their day. Everyone parked their vehicles, opened their tailgates, started smoking, drinking coffee, making snadwiches, and chatting it up with fellow travellers. It was very strange to see this pre-concert like atmosphere on a two lane highway overlooking the Hood River. I witnessed a pack of five skate boarders cruising down the shoulder attempting to grind the guard rail. I also noticed a football game was taking place about a half a mile up the road. There were people throwing frisbees, walking dogs, and of course taking turns urinating in the woods. I decided to pull out a lawn chair and work on a crossword puzzle for a bit. The shoulder of the highway looked like a boardwalk by the beach filled with people moving in both direction. The nosey people, of course, were heading up to check out the fire. Everyone seemed to notice my license plates and would make a New York comment as they walked past me. Comments like; “Yankess or Mets?!” or “You must be used to traffic like this. It looks like Manhattan during rush hour!” or “I have family on Long Island”. All of these comments made me really think. It is incredible when people see the name New York, they never ever seem to consider the fact that there is a whole bunch of land that sits above Manhattan. They immediately assume you are from “The City”. It is funny, even when you say “no, I am not from the city, I am from Upstate New York.” They always seem to respond by saying, “oh okay…you mean like Westchester County?” I usually surrender to saying yes, just to move forward with the conversation, and skip through the attempt to zero in on a persons birth place. As frustrating as it is to explain that I am not from “The City”, I must admit that I am guilty of comitting this social crime from time to time. I just recently met someone from Ireland the other day. After she explained where she was from, I said something that felt right at the time, but I immediately regretted the statement as soon as it left my tongue. I said, “Oh really, I just got back from a trip to Amsterdam.” That is equivalent to someone learning that I am from New York and saying something like, “Oh really, that’s cool I just got back from a trip to British Columbia.” I am an idiot sometimes.
I have checked into the Ryan Powell Hotel for a four night stay, and I have to be honest with you, it feels good to actually be in a location for more than a night. It feels steady for a change. Life is good. I have really enjoyed this traveling stuff, especially when I am heading towards a family members house. I am a family man. I love my family with everything I have. It is hard for me to witness some of my friends grow apart from their families. I don’t understand how that is possible to be honest. Ever since I can remember I have been surrounded by family and the importance of those relationships has been branded in my heart. I am looking foward to doing some fishing out here with Ryan and beating him on his own pool table! I will be sure to update you on my billiards record for the week.
Do me a favor tonight or tomorrow, reach out to a family member that you haven’t talked to in a while. It feels good and right. It fills your heart knowing that you made the effort to reconnect and it will show your relative that you really care for them. Hey, it just may make the relative you reached out to, reach out to another family member. Think about it, love spreads like wildfire. If you own a house, you always take care of your foundation first. If the foundation starts to crack, the amazing plasma TV you have hung above the fancy mantle won’t be worth a damn when it is lying in a pile of rubble. Take care of your family first, they are your foundation. The first step to becoming whole is understanding who made you step in the first place, family is everything, trust me.
