Hello Everyone! I hope you’re all having a wonderful summer so far and are getting out and enjoying yourselves wherever you are. 2020 into 2021 was such a long year and a half and while I know we’re not out of the woods with the coronavirus yet, it is really nice to be vaccinated and on the road again. I can’t believe that I’ve been gone almost a month – it really has been flying by out here. This week wasn’t very eventful. I spent a good chunk of it in Lansing, waiting to get Shadow Catcher’s transmission fixed and hanging out with my friend, Eric. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much accomplished this week work-wise so I feel like I’ve fallen behind, but I am trying to catch up. I am going to try and buckle down a bit so I can get all of my photos edited and published this week as I make my way out to the coast and up along shores of Lake Michigan.
After finishing up last week in Flint, I headed down to Lansing and met up with my friend, Eric. Eric and I were both teachers in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. We interviewed together, trained together and while we went to work at different schools, we were often together for work and after work as well. Since we both left New Orleans it’s been hard to catch up with him in person. I saw him a couple of years ago when I came up to Lansing for his office’s Grand Opening, but that was a busy day and we didn’t get to catch up much. I really enjoyed getting to spend a few days with him this week, even though it wasn’t under the best of circumstances. Eric’s friend’s 16 year-old son had just been shot and killed last week while downtown in a park. He was an athlete and a good young man who just found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I went with Eric to the young man’s repast, which was hard even though I didn’t know him, but was definitely organized as a celebration of his life. Eric had lost two other friends who were closer to our age in the last couple of weeks as well, both due to health issues. Over the four days I was in Lansing, a steady stream of people came through their house and it was great to meet so many of his friends, even under those circumstances. I was glad to be there to help support Eric through his grief. Sometimes I feel like I am exactly where I’m supposed to be, exactly when I’m supposed to be there, and this weekend definitely felt like that.
Compared to what was going on in Eric’s life, my van issues were certainly less important, but they did need to get resolved. I had ordered new house batteries for my van to be shipped to Eric’s place and they were there when I got there. Most smaller items I can pick up at an Amazon Locker, but these were too big and heavy and I was very grateful to have somewhere where they could be delivered. There are very few places in the country where I’m more than a day’s drive from a friend and for that, I’m eternally grateful. It took me about an hour to switch them out, and I am so happy to have fully charged and functional batteries again. Eric also had a friend named James who could take a look at my transmission. As you may know, I’m not a huge fan of getting van work done when I’m out here, but it’s definitely inevitable with an older van. Of course new cars and vans break down as well and are usually more expensive to fix, so there’s that too. Bringing in a vehicle with out-of-state plates can bring out the worst in a mechanic who knows you’re vulnerable, so having a personal recommendation really makes a big difference. That and the fact that I could hang out at Eric’s place while the work was being done and not have to sit there all day was also a good thing. James seemed like a really good guy and a good mechanic, and the problem turned out to be just a leaky gasket which was what I had suspected all along. While he had the pan off, he replaced the filter and fluid and it should be good to go for another 80,000 miles or so (at least as far as the transmission is concerned). It’s a huge relief to have those two issues sorted out and I’m very grateful to Eric and his wife, Wendy, for all of their help this weekend.
I did get out to see a little bit of Lansing while I was there. I toured the State Capitol which is definitely something I have tried to do in every state I’ve been to and was lucky enough to get a private tour from the lead guide. I wandered around downtown a bit to see the Lansing Lugnuts’ stadium and Lansing Brewery and definitely ate at some pretty good restaurants as well. Mostly, however, it was about spending time with Eric and getting my van ready to roll again. I got to meet his grandson, Legend, while I was there. Legend is 2 and is such a cute and sweet little boy. We had fun playing together and twirling in circles and I definitely enjoyed spending time with him. It made me miss my little buddy, Mason, but it was really great. We had tornadoes touch down while I was there as well, and I was even more grateful to be inside and in a place with a basement if the need for shelter arose.
