The BoomerGuy Chronicles

Road trips are wonderful for the soul. In retirement I’ve taken lots more journeys on the road than by  plane.  Airports can be crowded with people and stuff that is anything but relaxing. All the reservations and preparations and security precautions get in the way of appreciating  the serendipitous nature of travel. That said, the common view is that the LAST place one should drive through is the American Midwest. Conventional wisdom says this ”Flyover Country” is boring, flat, conservative, and sorely lacking in interesting people or places…thus the smart traveler flys over this area. This month, I headed out on the road from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Boulder Colorado (from one bubble to another). After a pleasant stay in a motel near Oglesbee Illinois I stopped at the local Mc Donald’s for a couple of senior coffees.(We’ve discovered Mickey D’s coffee far surpasses Comfort Inn Java!).  While waiting in line for my coffee (I did NOT use the apps or kiosk, thank you v...

  Michigan in March was  bitter cold, isolating and downright gloomy. What makes this so vivid is that  a glimmer of  warmth and Spring appeared early in the month that tantalized the soul. The sun showed up and for a brief moment we believed  that winter was done. Then we got hammered by an ice storm which cut off power to nearly one million people followed by a blizzard paralyzing traffic,  schools and businesses.The gray skies and arctic winds told us to hunker down, stay home and withdraw again into hibernation mode. So....when the Haisley Elementary School Play showed up on the schedule, I admit to hoping it would be canceled so I could wallow on the couch in my pajamas and binge on movies and /or college basketball. The last thing I wanted was to get presentable (shower, shave, wear clothes and shoes) and venture out to an elementary school gymnasium with 250 of my closest friends! But I soldiered up and traversed out into the cold night air.  Wh...