Bend It Like the Beard Boys

For this new post, we're leaving Las Vegas and going home (to Austin) for a whirlwind visit with friends and family. And it was a whirlwind trip, that's fer shure, fer shure! Originally it was to be a 54-hour visit, but then I missed my flight out of Vegas. That could have been disastrous, but it actually wasn't that much of a problem, though it did cut down my time in Austin by three hours.

So let's start there. Flight out of Vegas at 8:30--well, really, 8:25, and in this case, those five minutes were crucial. I had NO IDEA what a madhouse McCarren Airport was, even on a fairly normal Friday morning. We'd been hearing about the chaos at the airport early in the week, because of the NBA Allstars game, which was held here for the first time in either a long time or forever. But I had no idea that chaos reigns supreme in Vegas at ALL times! Anyway, I got there--to the airport--with enough time to make the flight--if it was Austin. But it was Vegas, and there were hundreds and hundreds of people there, going through security four abreast in lines that stretched for miles, it seemed.


By the time I got to the gate, the door was closed and a few seconds later, the plane pulled away from the gate, leaving about ten of us standing there, sadly watching as it left (thoughts that I wouldn't have as much time as I'd planned in Austin to see "my boys"--there are two of them right here: Jason with his dad--made me really sad!). That was a bad moment, but it didn't last long. The people at the gate were very helpful and got us all on planes that, at least in my case, delayed everything by three hours, but was otherwise a fine solution. The bad news was that I had to amuse myself for 3 hours in the Las Vegas airport (which, for those who don't know, is FULL of slot machines! PLEASE don't throw me into that br'ar patch, Br'er Bear!). And I missed my haircut appointment in Austin on Friday afternoon. The good news was that my suitcase was already in Austin when I got there, so I didn't have to wait for it. And Karen flew into Austin from Dallas just when I did, so we hitched up there, I got my rental car, and we went on to pick up the boys.


Had a nice evening with Karen and Jon-Michael and Jason: we started out playing "throw the ball over the garage" (here's Jon-Michael showing off his arm), dinner at Schlotzky's, and then a trip to Barnes & Noble. Then back to their house, to play some games and then, at 11:30, to watch a movie. The movie was "Eight Below," about the eight sled dogs that were left "below" in the Antartic. Jon-Michael bowed out early and went to bed with a good book. But Jason, Karen, and I toughed it out to the end of the movie. The plan was that I would sleep with Jon-Michael, while Jason slept with his folks. But Jason had a better idea: "Mom," he said, as he and Karen started up the stairs, "I know: Grandma could sleep in the middle of the bed with me [i.e., between Mom and Dad!]." Lovely idea, young man, but I don't think so!


The next day was soccer practice: I got some great pictures of the boys, especially Jason, and I'm going to share a few more here, no matter what you say. Here's Jason, the Ham, before his practice. What a guy! Jason, with his nine cohorts (half in black shirts, half in blue) followed that ball up and down the field like a flock of birds, all turning in unison when one of them connected with the ball. Jason's eyes never left the ball--it was amazing to watch!


Jon-Michael's game was later in the afternoon, after I had a lovely lunch with Nancy VandeMark. It was fun to catch up with her, after her recent trip to Florida. Then it was back down south for Jon-Michael's game. Here he is between periods as he's heading over to us. How's that for stylish sports attire. And I'm especially envious of his head of curls. What a guy!


I had my re-scheduled haircut after the game--my friend Pam, who's also my hairdresser, accommodated me and we had a great time catching up. Then it was off to the Wegers, Kurtis and Lisa, whom I've missed SO much since I left. Here they are, caught just a bit off-guard, after a great meatloaf supper. Our friend Jiexia (who is Bob the Good Boarder's special friend) was also there, though Bob was in Los Angeles and couldn't be there.


One of the big items for me was meeting Lisa and Kurtis's new dog, Gizmo, a little (seven tiny pounds worth) toy poodle. Here's Gizmo in Jiexia's arms--what a special little gizmo he is! They found him on Craig's List--amazing! The listing had only been there for an hour when they found it and followed up. So now our dear Bart, Lisa and Kurtis's dog who left us late last year, is looking down and, we're sure, approving highly of this new little member of the Weger household.

I spent a lovely night (my first!) at the Wegers, and in the morning I had--finally--one of Lisa's special 2-hour (almost) massages. Boy! Have I missed those! It was on to my condo, to see Chris, my renter, who served me spectacular Danishes that she made herself (she's SO talented!), and then to the Novels in Progress group that I've been a member of for 2-3 years now. It was great to see them and catch up with all their activities.

One more hour with Karen and the boys, back to the airport, return the rental car (great news there: instead of $83, only $63 for a weekend rental! Can't beat that!), and no hurry this time: caught the plane in plenty of time--AND had a great trip home watching Studio 60 and Lost episodes on my iPod. It was a pretty full flight, but I must live right, because there was no one in the middle seat, so I had lots of room. We landed about 10 minutes early--and within 35 minutes of touchdown, I was climbing into my motor home. That's the upside of living about 6-7 miles from the airport!


Okay, I know this hasn't been one of the more exciting of my postings, but I do have pictures, so I hope that helps you get over it. Here's one last one that I couldn't resist. Jason just has to show off the happy face that his dad drew on his hand. So we all wish you a great day, and we'll see you next time.