Thursday, January 07, 2010
Waiting for family
I visit my parents often in the winter in Myrtle Beach. It has an airport that reminds me of how the old Ontario, CA, airport was before LA County decided they wanted it to be the alternative to LAX and enlarged it without regard for passengers. In the old days you walked in, through security, and outside to gates that had benches. Myrtle Beach doesn't have you wait outside, but you still walk on tarmac and up trucked-stairs to the plane. There is something very 1960s about it; you expect an airplane door to open and John, Paul, George and Ringo to pop out.
But better for me is the airport's receiving area. Passengers come out of the secure area down a long aisle. Along one side are chairs, where people wait for their friends to arrive. You never see these seats anywhere else. Why? My parents are typical -- seniors waiting for family to come to visit. Even though it has been 30 degrees most of the week here, children my age arrive daily with smiles to see their parents who have managed to live well enough to be in a vacation area. Those older people are the ones that need the seats, and there you are. It is for me a reminder of a pre-9/11 time when going to the airport was exciting and fun. When my parents picked me up I had been waiting for them, watching these people greet each other. It was as happy a place as you've seen in an airport in many years, more like those mob scenes at foreign airports when the emigrants to America come back to visit Mom and Dad.
The area here is experiencing 12%+ unemployment; the first two restaurants we tried to visit were closed "temporarily". (Had a fantastic meal at a small Greek place where we were served by Albanians who had worked in Greece -- figure that out for me please!) Parking is easy everywhere. The hospitality industry is still in trouble almost everywhere.
Friday, September 11, 2009
9/11 and 9/12
We'll be quiet today and let you read honors to September 11th elsewhere. Here's an audio we played on the air last year. And check out Project 2,996; Ed Morrissey's turn at writing about one of the victims is here. (UPDATE: Chad suggests these videos too.)
Janet Adds: Today was doubly memorable for us. In addition to our remembrances of 9/11/2001, we saw our youngest son off at the airport this morning. He is an army 1st Lieutenant, deploying to Iraq at the end of this month, so it will probably be a year before we see him next. [End Janet.]
While I'm at it, for those who are wondering about the St. Cloud T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) Party, here's how you get to Lake George -- and pay particular attention to the construction in the area.
Lake George is across the street from Technical High School (233 12th Ave S, St. Cloud MN 56301), so using your GPS for the high school will take you there. That area is also your best bet for street parking. There is a parking lot on the south side of the lake as well. The organizers plan to set up in the northeast corner of the lake, which is where there is still construction for a new bridge and the 9th Ave underpass.
If you are coming from the east, remember that the bridge on Highway 23 over the Mississippi is still closed, so you will want to follow the detour signs. From any other direction, my advice is to come off Interstate 94 or U.S. 10 to State Highway 15, and turn east onto Division Street (which is labeled as Highway 23, Crossroads Mall will be to your west.)
I will be speaking around 10:15, just before Rep. Bachmann, and then hopping in the car to head to the Patriot. Live call-ins from St. Cloud will be on NARN Volume I, which is going to be hosted by Ed this week (Mitch will probably be there after noon.) So if you can't be there, you can at least listen to all the fun you're missing!
P.S. Yes, I'll stop by the MOB gathering too tomorrow night at Keegans. But I leave very early due to Sunday church singing, so if you snooze, you lose.
P.P.S. I'm glad Andy Levy preserved that Twitter stream. I was stretching before bed -- it's the only way my back can stay moderately healthy any more -- and as is my wont, I usually go to bed around 12:30am. My iPod Touch gave me the usual last hundred posts, which I read while listening to either Dennis (Miller, Prager) or music, and last night I chose Red House Painters. Stretching is about twenty minutes. I start reading and half my tweetstream is AllahPundit's stream. I got up, sat down, and refreshed until Twitterrific wouldn't let me any more. Music ran out at the same time, and I went to bed. I slept poorly.
Janet Adds: Today was doubly memorable for us. In addition to our remembrances of 9/11/2001, we saw our youngest son off at the airport this morning. He is an army 1st Lieutenant, deploying to Iraq at the end of this month, so it will probably be a year before we see him next. [End Janet.]
While I'm at it, for those who are wondering about the St. Cloud T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) Party, here's how you get to Lake George -- and pay particular attention to the construction in the area.
Lake George is across the street from Technical High School (233 12th Ave S, St. Cloud MN 56301), so using your GPS for the high school will take you there. That area is also your best bet for street parking. There is a parking lot on the south side of the lake as well. The organizers plan to set up in the northeast corner of the lake, which is where there is still construction for a new bridge and the 9th Ave underpass.
If you are coming from the east, remember that the bridge on Highway 23 over the Mississippi is still closed, so you will want to follow the detour signs. From any other direction, my advice is to come off Interstate 94 or U.S. 10 to State Highway 15, and turn east onto Division Street (which is labeled as Highway 23, Crossroads Mall will be to your west.)
I will be speaking around 10:15, just before Rep. Bachmann, and then hopping in the car to head to the Patriot. Live call-ins from St. Cloud will be on NARN Volume I, which is going to be hosted by Ed this week (Mitch will probably be there after noon.) So if you can't be there, you can at least listen to all the fun you're missing!
P.S. Yes, I'll stop by the MOB gathering too tomorrow night at Keegans. But I leave very early due to Sunday church singing, so if you snooze, you lose.
P.P.S. I'm glad Andy Levy preserved that Twitter stream. I was stretching before bed -- it's the only way my back can stay moderately healthy any more -- and as is my wont, I usually go to bed around 12:30am. My iPod Touch gave me the usual last hundred posts, which I read while listening to either Dennis (Miller, Prager) or music, and last night I chose Red House Painters. Stretching is about twenty minutes. I start reading and half my tweetstream is AllahPundit's stream. I got up, sat down, and refreshed until Twitterrific wouldn't let me any more. Music ran out at the same time, and I went to bed. I slept poorly.
Labels: 9/11, AM1280, Iraq, MOB, NARN, soldiers, US Soldiers
Thursday, September 11, 2008
9-11 audio tribute
This audio was played on KNSI by me this morning, produced by Matt Reynolds. It is about 3:30. Take the time to listen, please.
Labels: 9/11
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tomorrow is September 11
Tomorrow is September 11, the infamous day that Arab terrorists hijacked US planes with civilians on board. They crashed the planes into the World Trade Center Buildings, the Pentagon and attempted another attack that ended up in a Pennsylvania field. These terrorists murdered almost 3000 Americans from all walks of life and a plethora of national backgrounds.
Please offer a moment of silence tomorrow in remembrance of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and also remember those who today are fighting to keep the rest of us free from more attacks.
We will always remember.
Please offer a moment of silence tomorrow in remembrance of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and also remember those who today are fighting to keep the rest of us free from more attacks.
We will always remember.
Labels: 9/11
