Adventures with Speedball

Hi all, I'm back. Just thought I'd fill ya all in on what I did over break. Feel free to skip this, some of it is kinda boring.





Still here?

Ok then, I'll just get to it.

The day, April 14th, 2000, a Friday
The time 3:30 p.m.
It was cold.
I was going on my Spring Break from school here at Elmira College. I had turned in my last paper two hours earlier.
My Grandparents (from my Father's side) were coming to pick me up and take me to Williamsport P.A. They had my cousin drive. The trip was uneventful. We arrived at their house just in time to turn around and go out to diner. In defiance of Lenten rules I had a steak. I've never been one to let Lent get between a good steak and me. Later that evening my Grandfather took me to The Comic Castle, my favorite store in which to spend gross amounts of money. On this trip I spent over $50. I finally got issues 3 and 4 of the Western mini-series Blaze of Glory. Still need issue 1. After returning to my grandparents house I stayed up late to watch Farscape and Lexx, since I can only see them on break because Elmira College doesn't get the Sci-Fi station. I went to bed. If I dreamed I didn't remember.

April 15th, 2000, Saturday
I got up around noon. My grandmother made me soup. I tried to watch TV, but this was the 'Dead Zone' the period between the good Saturday Morning cartoons and before the later afternoon Adventure programs. I read some of my new comics. My Uncle Paul arrived to deliver me to the bus station. I caught the bus from Williamsport to Harrisburg; my final destination was Washington D.C. My Grandmother lent me her Walkman so I could listen to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on the bus. I also read the rest of my comics. At the Harrisburg station we were delayed. First the bus to D.C. was about 45 minuets late. Then there were to many people for one bus so they needed another. Finally we got on the bus. I read some of Orson Scott Card's book Enchantment on this leg of the journey. I think I also took a nap, I'm not sure. Eventually we got to D.C., were my parents were waiting to pick me up. My father works at U.N.C. Chapel Hill. He started in October. My mother is principal of Holy Ghost Academy in Tupper Lake New York. The plan is for her to move down in the summer. Hopefully we will have a house by then. After my parents picked me up we drove to his apartment near U.N.C in North Carolina. We commented on how chaotic D.C. would become the next day. We arrived at my father's apartment around 2:00 a.m. I went to bed. Again no dreams I remember.

April 16th, 2000, Palm Sunday
Despite getting in very late we still got up and went to church. I drove. I needed the practice. I hadn't driven in six weeks and I was taking my driver's test that week. It is a rather beautiful church. Instead of stained glass windows large regular windows look out at the trees surrounding the church, and with the sun shining on the fresh spring leaves it was more inspiring than colored bits of glass ever is. It reminded me of a poem, by Frost I think, that is quoted in the book Outsiders.
Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Each leaf is like a flower
But only so an hour
Then leaf subsides to leaf
As Eden sank to grief
Listen to what I say
Nothing gold can stay
I'm not sure I quoted that right. The priest was a bit on the weird side though. Mass didn't feel like mass but an elaborately staged play. His homely was... unique. He claimed that, on several occasions he has met the 'hammer man.' The Hammer Man is a pale, thin, old man, with haunting sunken eyes. He is actually the man who nailed Jesus to the cross, and he said he enjoyed his job. He has since found he is immortal, and as witnessed all the greatest acts of inhumanity for the last two thousand years. My mother was insulted. It was Palm Sunday and the homely took the congregation's attention off of Christ and onto the Priest. I was insulted because I had heard and read similar stories, but this Priest didn't acknowledge any author, infect he claimed the story was fact. My dad already didn't like him; he was to well groomed for a priest for his tastes. His hair was two good. We then went back to the apartment, changed, and went to the Tar Heels baseball game. It started to get cold, and the game was running long, and since the Tar Heels were up by a ridicules amount we left early. I stayed up to watch some TV and eventually went to bed. No dreams I can recall.

April 17th, 2000, Monday
My father had to go to work. My mother and I slept in, or at least what she considered sleeping in. She woke me up as 10:00 a.m. We went to the DMV and arranged for me to take my test on Wednesday. We ran various errands, ate lunch, some more errands, my mother cooked diner. I watched some TV, went to bed, no dreams.

April 18th, 2000, Tuesday
Again my father went to work. My mother had me drive us out to a near by outlet stripmall, to purchase some summer cloths. I got a pair of cargo pants, two pairs of shorts, a new pair of sneakers, and pair of sandals, and a Hawaiian T-shirt. That evening my father took me out parallel parking. I only bumped other cars twice. We then went to a very good Mexican restaurant and went to a Noel Coward play (Hayfever). I enjoyed it immensely. I slept well but don't recall any dreams.

April 19th, 2000, Wednesday
Up early, drive over to the DMV; get to be the first people in line. I take my drivers test, pass easily, and I didn't even have to parallel park. Unfortunately my father then needed the automatic, leaving me and Mom with the standard. I can't drive a standard yet so when I went to get comics books from the Second Foundation Science Fiction Bookstore I had to walk. It was a nice day. I was able to find Blaze of Glory number 1. I now have the whole mini-series and rate it ***** out of 5. Later we went to another Tar Heels baseball game, which they again won easily, and then we ate at the Outback to celebrate my passing the driving test.

April 20th, 2000, Thursday
My younger sister had been spending her Spring Break in Colorado, helping my Uncle Mike (my father's brother) and Aunt Julie take care of there three daughters, Hannah, Emma, and the brand new, nine month old Abby. This day we picked her up from the airport. She had been Ski-Bladeing and we very tanned. She told us of her visit. Aunt Julie is Jewish and my Uncle converted when they got married. My sister got so see some of Passover first hand. She seemed somewhat impressed. My mom bought me a mini-fridge since my roommate got rid of his. That night my Mom watched the Matrix for the first time on HBO. She enjoyed it. My sister avoided the TV room, a singular feat in such a small apartment. She goes to great lengths to not like anything Science Fictional. I believe she does this solely to annoy me. We also watched Top Gun; my sister is a big Tom Cruz fan. I had to sleep on the futon since there weren't enough beds. I did not sleep well. No dreams.

April 21st, 2000, Good Friday
Back to the outlets, this time with Sara (my sister) and my father. This time I got a long sleeve hooded T-shirt; a short sleeve hooded T-shirt, and another shirt. My sister got a lot of stuff. Then we went to Franklin Street (a road that runs along the side of U.N.C that has many shops and restaurants) we shopped some more and had lunch. That night we had Ham, we decided to for-go lent since we would not get to be together as a family for Easter. That night my Mom, my sister, and I packed. I slept badly on the futon again, and didn't dream.

April 22nd, 2000, Saturday
We backed the car, mini-fridge, luggage, and other asundery items. Then we drove from Chapel Hill North Carolina to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Since we were in the Subaru, a standard I couldn't help with the driving, so I was in the back seat while my sister and mother took turns. I had picked up from my father's apartment the first two Harry Potter books on tape and listened to all of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and the start of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets before we arrived. We drove all this way to spend Easter with my Mother's parents. My younger cousins Franky and Tony were there. My relatives are very loud. That night, after most every one else had gone to bed I watched Stigmata with my Grandfather. I enjoyed the movie. I slept well with no dreams.

April 23rd, 2000, Easter Sunday
Woken early (9 something A.M.) dressed in nice clothes and went to Easter Mass. Nice mass, very crowded. Then people came over for the Easter Dinner. At the table for the meal were my Grandparents, my sister, my mother, my Uncle Bill, Bobby Hanna (my Grandfather's childhood friend), Leon (Uncle Bill's childhood friend), my Uncle's new girlfriend (he is a widower) who's name I never did catch, and me. At the children's table was Franky, Tony, and my Uncle's Girlfriend's two kids. I never got their name either. After diner I had to go out side several time because I couldn't here myself think. Later that night, after everyone left and people started to go to bed, I got to see Prince of Egypt on HBO. I enjoyed the movie; the animation was very impressive. I enjoyed the depiction of Moses' and Ramsies' relationship. After I went to sleep that night I actually had a very weird/disturbing/bizarre dream. My roommate this year in college hasn't slept in our room since October. I don't ever see him, I think he is living in his girlfriends room, but he could be living on Mars for all I know. I only ever see him when he comes to take some of his things out of the room, most recently his mini-fridge two days before break. In my dream he seemed to have joined some evil cult that had given him paranormal powers. He was dressed if scarlet and black monk's robes and seemed like he was going to sacrifice his girl friend to some one or something in out room. I think I was going to be next, or something else was going to happen to me. Most odd.

April 24th, 2000, Monday
Up very early on the road by six. I listened to some more of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We arrived in Elmira around 11:30. I had class at 12:30. We dumped my stuff in my room, checked my mail, had lunch, and I said good bye to my Mom and Sister and went to class. My class is Devils, Demons, and Witches: Rendering the Occult. It is an art class. I think it will be very cool. Wyvern is in the class with me. After class I unpacked, hooked up my new mini-fridge, checked and cleared out my e-mail. Read back strips I missed from the on-line comic strips I read. Wrote this. Realized it is now 12:45 a.m., meaning it is now April 25th, 2000, Tuesday

So that's where I've been.