Road Trip

Most of us spend a lot of time traveling from one place to another. Most of us do so in our own car. From day to day and week to week, we often travel from the same places to the same places. It becomes routine to dodge the same potholes and rough patches on the road. It seems as if the scenery along the way seldom changes. Maybe this same-old, same-old is enough reason now and then for a road trip.

That said I am not a world traveler. I most likely won't ever wear that title. I prefer being closer to a base I can call home. I have gone up and down many of the same roads through the years. That level of familiarity is a nice place to visit occasionally. It has also given me enough memories to recall and share.

The road trips I recall started long before I ever sat behind the wheel of a vehicle, adjusted my mirrors and put the pedal to the metal. They begin in my childhood fast forward through my teen and early adult years and slow down enough for this place where I now find myself.

Recently, we took a short trip away. We left early on a Saturday morning on a surprise trip to the mountains. Two-and-a-half hours later and we are just beginning a memorable weekend. Hannah got to spend some time with cousins while Jennifer and I spent some time with other family members all within the confines of a gigantic theme park. By mid-day the next day we were on our way home.

I drove us home that afternoon. It was rainy and overcast. The traffic through Knoxville was steady but never came to a complete stop. Soon enough, we were halfway home. I often travel the back roads. We passed through a few small towns replete with a handful of red lights. I found us on a four-lane road sticking to the speed limit. I looked over at Jennifer only to find her as curled up as the passenger seat would allow. The movie "Zootopia" played over the audio system. I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed Hannah had also gone to sleep.

I thought a bit how many road trips I had been on in my life. Trips with my parents and other family. Trips with friends. And now, trips with my wife and daughter. A slow and steady pace would find us pulling into our driveway soon enough. Until then, the steady hum of the tires on asphalt mixed with the memories of trips from the long ago and the not-so long ago leading me to a place I find warm and cozy.

Playlist for "Road Trip"

Johnny Cash "I've Been Everywhere"

Boston "Hitch a Ride"

Todd Rundgren "Bang On The Drum"

Ray Charles "Hit The Road, Jack"

The Allman Brothers Band "Ramblin' Man"

Blackfoot "Highway Song"

Old Crow Medicine Show "Wagon Wheel"

Roger Miller "King of the Road" 

Chuck Berry "Route 66"

The Pretenders "Middle of the Road"

Shakira "Try Everything"

Tom Cochrane "Life Is A Highway"

The Smell Test

Nearly every morning sees the same routine for me. I reach into a kitchen cabinet then pull out a plastic purple bowl. I open a drawer fumbling for a spoon. I set these two items on a counter beside the refrigerator. Then I locate a box of cereal, usually Cheerios of the honey-nut variety, although I go crazy some days and reach for the plain variety or even Rice Krispies or one of the Chex cereal family members. I open the box top, unravel the interior protection then fill the bowl with the cereal. Of course, the next step is to add milk to the bowl.

This is where this whole process slows down. I open the refrigerator door, scrounge around to find the jug of milk then bring it out into the kitchen. I slowly remove the cap to the milk then instead of pouring it onto my cereal I pull the whole jug up to my nose to give it a sniff. It could be a new, never-opened-before-that-very-moment container or one that has spent a week taking up time in the chilled repository known as the refrigerator; I am not partial to applying the smell test to milk every time I get near it.

Jennifer finds this amusing. In time, I am sure Hannah will as well. Some days, I think the cat even gives me the stink eye when I do this. But, folks, I’m just not going to take a chance. After all, I have filled my cereal bowl in past times then poured in milk only to discover the milk has turned sour. It is an awful way to ruin a pile of processed breakfast food. If I had only taken a precious few seconds to hold my nose over the milk jug opening, I could have saved myself from having to alter my morning meal plans.

I have a good life. I am blessed beyond what I ever wished for and definitely more than I deserve. Still, I have made poor choices during my lifetime. I also know I will most likely add to that list as time moves forward. Looking back, I wonder if some of those bad choices though could have been avoided if I had only taken the time to give the impending decision a smell test. You know, assess the situation a bit longer, remove the cap to hold my nose over the situation and given it a sniff. That sure would have been a better solution than to cry over spilled milk.