A Little Understanding

There are a lot of things that I do not understand. At eye-level, there are mathematical problems and scientific concerns, that, well, lose me rather quickly. From a wide, big picture look, I shake my head how we, as a society, allow politicians, the media, social media, and celebrities so much influence on our lives, even down to how we perceive people we do not agree with on issues. I do not understand why some do not value the miracle of new life. I do not understand why some do not value the years those who are older have lived.

There are plenty of other things I could add to such a list. As you read this, you probably have a shortlist of things that have popped into your head. I know if I had the time and the inclination I could do something about my struggles with math and science. My deficiencies with them are all on me. The bigger ticket items, well, that is more challenging, isn’t it?

Then, there are these other things that shuffle my papers in the wrong way. You know, I just don’t get the hysteria over pumpkin spice. Some people like to decorate their homes for Christmas sometime after Labor Day, while others like to enjoy the day-to-day journey between September and December.

Long before any virus called for us to hibernate, stunt the curve, put on a mask, and wring, er, wash our hands endlessly, social distancing was something practiced already in certain places. Take the men’s public restrooms for instance.

No, not every restroom is the same. Some are small, others quite large. Most have urinals and toilets. The large ones are great. You can find a urinal away from others in use and take care of business. Even in smaller ones, sometimes you will wait your turn so that you are not closing in on someone else’s private space. Still, I have been in large restrooms, with numerous urinals not in use only to have someone walk in and decide to use the urinal right next to me. Really? Of the seven, eight, nine, however many are not in use, you decide to pick the one right next to someone? After finishing what I went there to do then washing my hands, I have left the restroom shaking my head at what just happened.

I know not everyone can relate to the previous example. That is okay, I have another than many may relate to easier.

A few weeks back, I went to pick up our daughter from school. I left work then drove to her school. I pulled into a section of the parking lot that has I guess about thirty parking spaces. School had dismissed over an hour earlier and now the children with after-school activities or late-working parents were the ones still on hand. This was a number much less than the overall school population. As I pulled in, I noticed there were maybe twelve to fifteen cars in the parking spaces in this specific lot. This meant I had my choice of plenty of parking spaces. I located one then pulled into it. It was a thing of beauty. No cars in the two spaces to my left. No cars in the two spaces to my right. When I got out of my car to walk to the building, I noticed other empty parking spaces available. As I neared the building, I heard a truck pull into the parking lot. I looked over my shoulder to see the driver backing (don’t get me started on that either) his vehicle into the parking space to my car’s right. Mind you, plenty of spaces all over the lot, but he chose one of the spaces right next to my car. I could only shake my head.

I know things like this make others shake their heads. That is okay. Generally, these things do not ruin a day for me. Such things though do make me wonder. These things make me think what oddballs people are at times, myself included. When I step back to think on these things with enough distance and quiet, I can see how seeing differences can be something valuable even if you don’t fully agree with those differences.

Well, except for that urinal thing. I will never understand that.

Road Trip: Away To College

One January Saturday morning, my parents drove me to college. It was a road trip that forever changed my life. They left me well over three hundred miles away from the home I had known all my life. This new place was a small room with two roommates and a dorm full of characters who became among the closest friends I have ever known. I did not see that coming when we pulled out of the family driveway that Saturday morning.

I don’t recall much about the actual trip. It was cold and sunny. The trip seemed to take forever. We finally got there and mostly unpacked. Soon enough, it was midday Sunday and my parents were leaving to return to Georgia while I was staying behind in a place where I only knew a handful of people.

Life suddenly was different. While I had good roommates and made good friends then, I was still homesick. Within a few days of my arrival, I had the days counted until spring break. I remember thinking if I could just make it to that time when I could go home to visit, I could come back for the seven or so weeks remaining to finish out the semester and then never return.

So, I waited for mid-March. It came in the form of a Friday. My classes ended around lunchtime. I was riding back to Georgia though with a friend whose classes did not end until later in the afternoon. By the time we were joined by a third rider, we were leaving campus later than I hoped but we were finally on the road.

I remember some things about that trip. I know we took turns driving. It seemed to take a long time to get where we wanted to be. The one major thing that sticks out to me about that trip was a great realization that I loved my parents and family more than I ever understood. I remember looking out the car window into the velvety darkness thinking about my life and what I planned to do with it. I knew what I was doing was not easy but I think I then began to understand it was something I had to do.

I finally got back into Mom and Dad’s house after midnight. It was good to be back there. Soon enough, I would see other family members during the week. The week ended though. Before I was ready, we were on our way back to college.

The remaining weeks at school seemed to pass quicker than those first few weeks. It wasn’t long before my parents came to pick me up and we drove home for my summer break. At one point in that recent past, I was certain if I could make it to those first few days of May then I would never go back. When we left that day in May though, I knew deep down in my heart I would be back. I just did not see that coming when this journey started on a sunny, cold January Saturday morning.

Playlist for "Road Trip: Away To College"
Van Halen "Panama"
Nena "99 Luft Balloons"
Christine McVie "Got A Hold On Me"
Oak Ridge Boys "I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes"
Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time"
Elton John "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues"
John Mellencamp "Pink Houses"
Jackson Browne "For A Rocker"
The Cars "You Might Think"
The Go-Gos "Head Over Heels"
The Pretenders "Middle of the Road"
Tony Carey "A Fine, Fine Day"