1. Preparing to travel is a bit more complicated for me after having a kidney transplant. I filled up a whole sheet of typing paper with lists: pills, thermometer, blood pressure cuff, electronics, clothes, and more and slowly and quietly, focused on keeping any anxiety at bay, spent hours today packing, organizing, checking, rechecking, doing my best not to forget anything necessary.
I succeeded!
2. The door that opens the back of the Sube (it's a station wagon) has been sealed shut for a while. I looked at YouTube videos about how to get it unstuck and it was all beyond anything I could do. It also looked like it could be complicated. Finally, today, after I had the air level in the tires checked at Silver Valley Tires, I stopped in at Hickey's Collision Repair and Bob Hickey had some free time and he came out and looked at the door.
He had me back up closer to his shop, came out with some tools and some oil and greased the latch.
That did it!
With the tools he got the door to open again and then he generously greased the lever/latch and now Debbie and I have access to the back of the Sube again.
I see a trip to recycle cardboard in my near future once I return home again!
3. Thursday morning the cock crowed (not really) and I was up at the crack of dawn to load up the Camry and head to Sacred Heart for a blood draw. Afterward, I grabled a 16 oz triple latte down in the cafeteria and hit the road. I popped into the parking lot at the Sprague Rest Area. Blood results had come in.
Things look stable. I liked seeing that my Creatinine levels crept a little closer to being in range and that my kidney function climbed another percentage point to 55%. That's sure better than the days when it ranged between about 12 and 16/17 percent!
4. I had decided before leaving Spokane for Eugene that I wouldn't try to break any land speed records, fully expecting not to reach Eugene until 7 p.m. or later.
I stopped in Ritzville for a triple grande Americano with half and half and a bagel with cream cheese.
I stopped at the Rivertrap Pub in The Dalles and enjoyed a Thai stir fry for a mid-afternoon lunch.
I fueled up in Cascade Locks.
I crawled with my hundreds of travel companions down I-205 and then onto I-5 until the traffic congestion eased up south of Wilsonville.
From there, it was an easy drive to Eugene. I guess I should say that driving in the congestion was also easy. It was just very slow, but nothing I didn't expect and nothing I didn't accept as the reality of coming into Portland-land around 4 in the afternoon.
And, as I expected, I arrived in Eugene between 7 and 7:30.
5. From Spokane to Eugene, I listened, with some wandering of my concentration, to Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City. I knew when I decided to listen to this book that I'd learn a lot of fascinating history of Chicago and of the machinations that simultaneously delayed and brought into being the 1893 Chicago World's Fair in Jackson Park.
I did not expect, however, to learn so much about Frederick Law Olmsted, the renowned landscape architect, the designer of Central Park and other superb projects, and the landscape architect in charge of transforming Jackson Park into a vibrant space worthy of a World's Fair.
I also did not know, that by listening to this book, I would also be wading into the troubled waters (once again) of psychopathy.
This book has two main currents. One current is the story of the World's Fair and the city of Chicago.
The second current is the story of serial killer H. H. Holmes, an accomplished swindler, con man, seducer, and psychopathic murderer.
This second current of the book has been difficult for me to listen to, but, at the same time, I admit to being on pins and needles wondering how this plot of the book will conclude.
6. I'm staying in a duplex at 12th and Monroe, just a few blocks south and west of where I, and later, Debbie, Adrienne, Molly, Patrick, and I lived in Eugene from 1993-2014, with the kids growing into adults and leaving and, from time to time, coming back to visit and, for short periods of time, to live. The duplex I'll live in until Tuesday morning is terrific. Handsome. Clean. Quiet. Appointed perfectly. I'm very happy with this place.
I didn't stay long in the duplex upon arriving.
I leapt back into the Camry, went to New Frontier Market to grind coffee beans, buy milk, and purchase a pack of four bagels.
Then I soared over to Jeff's house to listen to his radio show, Deadish. He records it at home on Sunday and it plays on KEPW-FM on Thursday at 9:00.
Tonight's show was especially great.
It featured two straight hours of a February, 1995 Zero show performed at WOW Hall in Eugene.
I'm pretty sure I didn't attend that show, but it was a deep pleasure to listen to two hours of it tonight and Jeff and I had superb conversations about books and music and podcasts and dogs and other stuff.
Shortly after midnight, I fell into a deep and comfortable coma sleep.
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