violetismycolor

daughter in college...disaster looms...

Yeah, so Bonnie got her syllabi for all her classes yesterday. Her French Lit final is scheduled for when she is supposed to be winging her way home. It has a note: Final will not be rescheduled for any reasons, plane flights included.

Okay, panic ensues.

I call to see if we can change her plane flight. Yes, for $125, we can fly her home on the 3 pm flight instead of the 1245 pm flight out of Syracuse. The problem is that her final is from 3 to 5. So, that doesn't work. After that, NO flights are available till AFTER Christmas. Clearly, this is a no go.

I told Bonnie that her only options are:

Go to the prof and beg.

Go over the profs head, to the Dean of Students, and beg (or have me or her dad do that).

Drop the class and add one that has a final that accomodates her schedule.

No word yet on what her choice is...and I am out of ideas.

Gone a-lookin' for a place for Mom...

Spent most of yesterday afternoon doing all the housekeeping stuff that my 'boys' didn't quite get around to while I was gone. John seemed amazed that it could actually become clean again. He said that I had done what the 3 of them couldn't. And why not? Men!!! (big harumph and sigh)

Spent a good deal of today with my mother-in-law, shopping at the Pendleton store for clothes for her and then looking at Mary's Woods in Lake Oswego as a possible retirement facility for her to move into. She liked it alot and is seriously considering it. Obvious points given for smiling folks and lovely surroundings. Not so obvious points were given for having ways to get up and down to areas without having to use stairs or ramps.

Dropped her off for her beauty sleep, as she terms it, and picking her up again at 4. She is having dinner here, but John won't be home, unfortunately. Says he won't be here for dinner tomorrow either. I am now a 'politics widow'. Ah well, I will sacrifice if it means that John Kerry will win in November.

recaps...

Today is Sunday, and we are going to the dogs...not really, it is just a way to describe what happened in church this morning. It was a 'blessing of the animals' kind of thing. We brought our dog, Barley, which also got our 16-year-old to wake up and come to church. Ross is Barley's 'real' owner; he just loves him in a way that no one else possibly could. Barley was astounded at the bounty of dogs that surrounded him. We had a hard time getting him to actually SIT...it would have been so much more fun to go around and sniff the other dogs to his hearts' content. But he was quiet (though some of the other dogs weren't). There was only one brave cat owner. I saw one cockatiel, and one fish (in a bowl, of course). The cockatiel had a cage that had so many mirrors, I was beginning to wonder but then it became obvious what her story was. The cockatiel would hop around the cage, looking in the mirrors and wolf-whistling herself. It was quite amusing, really. After the service, there were dog biscuits and kitty treats and such. Barley was blessed by the pastors. Quite memorable, actually.

My mother-in-law is in town for about 2 weeks. We are trying to convince her to move here. She lives in Sarasota, Florida, so it would be quite a move, but she seems pretty excited about the possibilities. She is turning 91 in September and she is AWESOME...the best mother-in-law anyone could hope to have. I really hope the move becomes a reality. We gave her Bonnie's old cellphone, and she was very jazzed at having one. First a computer, now this. Maybe, if she moves here, we can convince her to buy a wireless laptop for all her email needs.

Got home last night from moving Bonnie into her college dorm (at Colgate, upstate NY). We shopped and shopped for things to make her dorm room 'home'. She got a cute bedspread and rug, lots of pillows (including a couple to put on her windowseat). It was really shaping up when I left.

The weather going to and fro (on the plane) was horrendous. I got to Chicago okay, but when it came time for my connection to Syracuse, it was cancelled. I got on a plane to Rochester, but we sat on the runway for 3 hours and then when we got to be number one for take-off, we didn't have enough fuel to get to Rochester and they sent us back to the gate for refueling (which we had seen many of the planes doing). When we got back to the gate, we were told that we were cancelled. No more flight possibilities that night, so I took a hotel room nearby.

I did, however, get to Syracuse the next morning.

Of course, I lost my rental car reservation in Syracuse, and ended up getting the ONLY vehicle that any of the rental companies had left. It was an SUV and it was $69/day when my original reservation was for $21/day. I also had to pay for the bed and breakfast room that I had reserved for the night, since she was sold out and could have resold my room, but I didn't know that I wouldn't be there till the last minute. ARGGGHHH!!!

Bonnie is coping reasonably well with her new life. She has some frustrations (the imbecilic things they do for 'orientation', the sticky humid wetness of the East Coast summer, the lack of proper rest, having to wear flipflops in the shower) but she has met some awesome kids. She seems to be a social butterfly that has just escaped her cocoon of shyness. She happily introduces herself to everyone, male and female.

Bonnie's single is small, but will be a wonderful oasis for her. She can hide herself away when stress hits and have some calming time with her books and her music and her aloneness. Her R.A. is right next door and VERY nice. A great start...

Got to get started with doing the mounds of laundry that await. My husband and sons have left the place a bit of a mess and didn't do any of their own laundry. I want to make everything clean and smelling nice (why is it that guys don't seem to care about that?) and that will require quite a bit of elbow grease. So, more later...

trouble in Seattle...

Okay, so yesterday was sort of a disaster...

It all started out well enough. Bonnie was in the best mood she could be in, and hadn't been this good-natured for weeks. She hugged me going into the Denny's at breakfast, saying, 'Oh mom, our last breakfast together as a family...' She rough-housed, good-naturedly, with her brothers all morning. She smiled constantly at Sea-Tac Airport just before hitting the security line. All good for her...

And then...

John clapped his hands over his pockets and said, 'Where are my keys?'

He had dropped the rest of us in front of the airport and then gone to park the car. We had met up at a Seattle's Best Coffee stand and chatted aimiably for half an hour, or so. No one had seen the keys in his hand, at all. He recalled leaving them in the men's room...went to check...and NOTHING!!!

Bonnie grabbed her stuff and headed for security, after rushed hugs and kisses. No time to be weepy. We had a crisis on our hands.

We checked everywhere John had been, then headed up to Lost and Found. Now, one would think that Lost and Found would actually try to help one FIND something. Not really. They are open only during business hours (M-F 9 am to 5 pm, except every 2nd and 4 Wednesday afternoon...and never on holidays...don't ever lose anything here!) They said to write up a little report and hope for the best.

Couldn't they call the maintenance crew and find out if anyone had found them? 'Well, they don't like it when we do that.' Really? Isn't that part of their job? She took some convincing, but finally did it. Nothing.

I called our Saab dealer. The bad news: if you want a replacement key, you have to send to Sweden for one.

We had one, only it was at home in Portland, Oregon. We rented a car, drove home. John had to drive back to Seattle (keys in hand) and then drive back from Seattle, again. A mere 3 hours each way. He wasn't home for good till 10 pm. And he had to pay for SeaTac short term parking for the entire day.

The good news: Bonnie got to Syracuse all right and sent us an absolutely glowing email today.

Let's hope my trip to see her (tomorrow) is relatively eventless.

some photos...click on them...they're purdy...

The first photo is of the Calhoun cousins. Quite an attractive group, n'est-ce pas? The only one missing is Alex, who spent his money and vacation time in Japan a couple of months ago. (Note: 'the girlfriend' was in Japan, not so coincidentally) The second photo is of MY lovely children. Taken at the wedding. The last happy moments together before Bonnie was shipped off to Colgate...

We spent two big chunks of time on the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry. Here it is in all its glory. It was beautiful, well-appointed and fun for all. Bonnie found the free internet connection-area. Adam took lots of pictures. (Do you know how many pictures I now have on my computer of blue sky/blue hills/blue sea?) Ross frequented the cafe. John and I mostly read our books and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

We had the true Canadian experience. People who kept saying 'eh?' (are they really that confused?) Quarters called 'loonies' that looked like play money. Newspapers that had headlines like 'Canadians win their 2nd Olympic medal!!!' There is no panic about terrorism or national angst about war. They don't really have anything going on there. No wonder they feel inconsequential to the world. They are genuinely nice people with no impact on anything of import. I thought how odd it would feel...and how peaceful. It was so nice to be so relaxed there.

no photos yet, but...

No, there are no photos yet to upload, but we are having quite a nice time. Bonnie had a major bout of car sickness (no vomiting, thank God) but she felt horrible and there was crying and you can just imagine the rest.
Here's a brief look back...

We started out on Friday afternoon and the drive out of Portland was not too bad. Everyone managed very well in the car all the way through Seattle. It got a little rough thereafter, since Bonnie was started to feel it in her stomach and in her joints. In Bellingham, it took 3 tries to find a hotel but we finally managed. Bonnie and Ross went straight to bed, but Adam came down with a book and we caught a bit of the Olympics.

Saturday morning we managed to see both U.B.C. and Simon Fraser U. in Vancouver, BC. We are trying to see if we can interest Ross in the college process (he will be a junior in h.s. this year) and he ACTUALLY seemed interested. Adam and I both liked UBC best (but there are 40,000 kids there...reminded us of Cornell), but Ross and John both liked Simon Fraser. It was very much a concrete campus on a hill (ugly, in my opinion) and with mostly part-time students, we hear...so maybe NOT the spot for Ross. Bonnie declared them both too ugly for her. Colgate is absolutely gorgeous, so she should be very happy there.

We found a cute coffee shop at the ferry dock at Horseshoe Bay. Had a mocha, YUM. Got onto the ferry without any hassle. But Bonnie was very bored there and feeling a little of the car/sea/sick thing. We only had an hour up to Courtenay, but Bonnie pretty much lost it...

A little on the late side for dinner with the other Calhoun contingent, but had a lovely dinner at an old 'house' turned restaurant with a gorgeous garden. Bonnie kept having to get up and walk (tummy trouble). We had a quiet evening of conversation and then to bed.

Bonnie, John and I got up for breakfast while Adam and Ross dozed. Unfortunately for the bride and groom, the day was gray and gloomy and they had their outdoor ceremony rained out, but the backup plan worked out very well. The wedding and reception were lovely, lots of crying by the bride/groom/everyone else. Jen (bride) gave her bouquet to Grandma Calhoun and gave a very touching speech about her. I am not sure there was a dry eye in the house.

Today, ironically, the sun is breaking through and would have been perfect for an outdoor wedding. We are soon heading out to the 'after party', then off to our ferry and off the island...

More later...

up and away...

So, the boxes have been shipped and Bonnie is less stressed. She already has filled another box with things she overlooked. I will send them when we get back from British Columbia on Monday. We will have dropped Bonnie that morning at the Seattle airport for her trip East. And I will go out there on Wednesday.

Today, we are headed up to beautiful British Columbia to go to a family wedding...maybe will post some photos from there. We have free internet access in our rooms...WEE!!!!

Husband is calling and I need to go help pack the car. We want to get out of Portland before the freeway backs up with others wanting to escape for the weekend.

day of stress...

Yeah, my daughter is majorly stressed. She has mega-packing to do and she has been doing everything she can to avoid it. Two birthday parties in as many days. Spending this afternoon with her cousin, Maria (who was HERE last night), watching movies and playing games. Informs me she is going to see her friend Zoe tomorrow at 10 a.m. Is complaining of back pain, stomachache, all over yuckiness. STRESS, I tell her. Stress because she has to do all this major packing and she keeps avoiding it. Got to do it. Just do it.

So, yeah, she is transferring the stress to me.

No, I don't like it.

What do I do about it? Nothing but keep insisting that she is grown-up now and has to do some of these things on her own. Oh, to be a mom.

On the flip side, I went to the Portland Art Museum today and saw the Rau Collection with my friend, Jane. I had been to see it once before, when I entertained the wife of John's Korean distributor (earlier journal entry somewhere...), but she didn't feel comfortable enough with her English to listen to the taped tour guide. Love getting that inside scoop about the paintings, the artists, the backstory on the settings, etc. So, that was great.

Then, I spent several hours watching the next 25 Epson Print Academy videos and am now up-to-date and really jazzed about my photography. Am posting a picture that I love to go along with this entry.

Adam didn't wander in till about 130 this morning, AGAIN. He and his girlfriend, Lynn, had gone out to dinner at Abu Karim, a great Moroccan restaurant on 21st. Don't know where else they went but I woke up at midnight cuz my twin computer monitors suddenly awoke from sleep mode and the light is blinding...imagine a totally dark room and the light from 2 monitors suddenly coming on just beyond my feet...then, I realized that Adam wasn't home yet and despite my desperate attempt to just let it go and relax, I just COULDN'T get back to sleep till I heard him come in.

This momma bear will actually sleep easier when just one baby bear is residing at home. He doesn't drive yet. He is a total homebody. And he sleeps like 20 hours a day.

laughter abounds...

There is a group of six 18-year-old girls, sitting outside my window, giggling uncontrollably. My daughter, Bonnie, who turned 18 on August 12, is having the first of her two birthday parties. She has a large group of friends and she wanted to be able to REALLY spend quality time with all of them, so she devised this two party thing. She is having one set of friends tonight and one tomorrow night. She felt a little nervous about this. She was afraid that it would somehow offend her friends. I tried to tell her that if they were really friends, then they wouldn't care one way or the other. They don't seem to, either.

Bonnie is finding it a little difficult to separate herself, now, from friends that she thought were almost lost to her, earlier this year. She is only home till Thursday, when we take off for Vancouver Island (and my niece, Jen's wedding). We still have to pack her boxes, to be sent UPS to Hamilton, NY, and their new life with her, there. We still have to decide what isn't absolutely necessary to ship, either. I know she would love to take her shelves and shelves and shelves of books, but that is impossible. She loves reading, and I know that she will collect many, many more over the next few years.

Did I say that I am trying to keep up with my goal of walking 10,000 steps per day? My little pedometer ticks off the steps, one by one. I feel as though it is shaming me when it only registers 2244 steps, as it did on Friday. I didn't walk to and from Starbucks (as I try to do every morning) because I had a hair appointment. I sat in Marla's chair of beauty for about 2 hours, getting touched up. Then, I sat around talking to my family, drove home in my car, went to a party in a backyard that was very, very small, and then wound up coming home and jumping into my pajamas right away. A measly 2244 steps...

reminiscing...

Think 1963...I was a sucker for Kool Aid. My mom would buy lots and lots of Kool Aid in all sorts of colors and flavors. This NOW seems weird to me, since we lived on a dairy farm and had free milk around, 24/7. If we didn't want that, why didn't she tell us to just drink water? Maybe she was caught up in the Kool Aid martketing machine. After all, they had that cool smiling pitcher. And I wanted to have one of those, so desperately. I thought they were the cutest things I had ever seen. No matter that I loved the taste of Kool Aid (my mom bought the kind that you put a whole cup of sugar in) but I really thought it would taste better if it came in that pitcher!!! My kids never would touch the stuff. They much preferred juice or milk when thirsty. (Of course, they always had the option of putting Nestle's chocolate syrup in their milk.)

Why am I saying this now? This afternoon, I was at my all-time favorite hangout, Grand Central Bakery in Multnomah Village, and had ordered the herbal iced tea. It was berry flavored, and with a bit of sweet'n'low in it, it tasted so much like the berry Kool Aid that I had always loved. Brought me right back to the good old days. Ah, nostalgia.

And in November 1963, I was turning 7. I had a friend, Cheryl Russo, who had had a birthday just about a week before mine. She had gotten these Mattel dolls, twins...a boy and a girl...that came with their own teeter totter (it had yellow plastic seats...I can still see it). I was so jealous. I wanted those dolls so much. And I had been begging my mom and dad for them for some time, even before Cheryl Russo had gotten them. How disappointed I was, on the morning of my birthday, to NOT get what my heart so desired. You can tell how much it upset me. I am still thinking about those dolls and this is 40 years later!

Then, only a few weeks after my birthday, another unforgettable memory. We were Catholic, and I went to Catholic school (St. Pius V in Buena Park, CA). My parents SO revered John F. Kennedy. And everyone remembers where they were when they heard he had been killed. It was recess. I was standing near the door of the 4th grade classroom (I was a 2nd grader), and I asked a nun why the flag was flying only halfway up the flagpole. She told me that the President had been killed. It rocked me to my core. Ah, memories...

Where was I?

So, why didn't I go to the Kerry rally yesterday? Couple of reasons. I would have gone, just to show my support, even though I have heard (and seen) him speak a couple of times.

Two things got in my way.

Number one: I had a hair appointment and it is really hard to get a hair appointment with Marla rescheduled on short notice. I had considerable grow-out of the lovely white hair that I would have without chemicals...couldn't live with that. Vanity, okay, that is reason number one.

Number two: My sister and her husband were in town from Salmon, Idaho just for the day. Joan and Vic lost their only son in a car accident last October. Devastating to all of us, but unimagineable as a parent. Had to go and just BE with them. Was a little afraid of the political discussions (my family are, in most cases, staunch conservative Republicans), but all was well on that front. We all tried very hard to be respectful of each others' politics. What a relief.

So, I skipped the Kerry event but apparently 60,000 other people did not. And that doesn't count the thousands that reportedly could not get in. No more room.

Got home from the familyfest and John called to remind me we had a 'party' to go to. I was tired and not really in the mood, immediately. By the time John got home, though, I was rested up and off we went to the land of the beautiful people, Lake Oswego. The hosts had this house right on the river. They had rented the Portland Jet Boats to give everyone rides. The driver, though, was a sadist. He tried to drench everyone on the boat with sharp turns in either direction. We were kind of hoping to be able to actually look at what was along the river. I spent most of my time ducking behind either John or John's boss, who was on the opposite side of me. John got absolutely soaked. I managed to save myself, mostly.

The food was great. Lots of fun people to talk to. Ran into Jill and Bob DeKoenig, my ex-next-door-neighbors. Interesting. But when the band starting playing, no one could hear anyone else anymore and so we bailed and went home.

Bonnie and I continued on our Horatio-Hornblower-athon till late (and then finished another episode this morning).

Quite a day.

how many???

So, did anybody notice that there were reportly 50,000 people at the Kerry rally in Portland today? Maybe more. I don't think the count is actually in. There was so much excitement. John went and had a great time. Go Portland!!!

At the same time, Bush was at a school in Beaverton, where he only allowed loyal supporters. Probably had about 1000 people.

The Kerry campaign didn't want to announce the date and time of their Portland visit till the last minute, so Bush wouldn't follow him (again). But literally an hour after Kerry announced his Portland timetable, Bush announced that he was coming the same day. Why does he insist on stalking Kerry? It's kind of creepy, if you ask me.

the little girl is not so little anymore...

So, my baby girl is 18 today! Wow, it doesn't feel possible. Eighteen years ago today, I went to the hospital because I was having (very weak) contractions. Bonnie's due date was Sept. 3 but since Adam had been 3 weeks early, I thought I would see what was up. The doctor said that the baby was big enough (sure enough, 7 lbs. 13 oz....just like her brother), and the doctor didn't really want to have to come back later, so we just went ahead and DID it. We had already ascertained that this baby, too, would be a c-section and they wheeled me into the OR and boom...there she was!

We actually did most of her celebrating last night. We went out to dinner at Sinju, in the Pearl District. Yummy! We DO love sushi in this family, and Sinju is probably the best in town. There were tons of families hanging out across the street at Jamison Park. There is the absolute coolest water feature there...part fountain, part pond...and since it was about 95 yesterday, it was the place to be.

After dinner, we let Bonnie open her presents, since we all take off very early in the morning and we wouldn't have had the proper amount of fanfare for her, then. She loved all her presents. She was very excited about the two swords she got (for her martial arts discipline)... but her very favorite things were her full set of Horatio Hornblower DVD's. She has a mad crush on Ioann Griffudd.

We spent the remainder of the evening watching hours of Hornblower video. Quite fun, actually.

tall Dutch genes...

I read in the paper today that the Dutch are the tallest people in the world. Well, I am 100% Dutch, as my parents are Dutch immigrants and their families have lived there FOREVER. The article I read said that the average Dutch man is 6'1" and the average Dutch woman is 5'8". I am 5'8" tall, so I guess I am average for a Dutchwoman. I do have several sisters who are 5'10" or taller.

As for my kids, Adam is 5'10", Bonnie is 5'6", and Ross is 5'10". I blame their dad's Scottish genes...he is 5'10", too. Adam may not grow any more (he is 20), but Ross is only 16 and definitely still growing. I think he grew 6 inches in the last year. He may get that Dutch height yet!

give that movie a B-

The real crime about 'The Bourne Supremacy' is that, though the movie was very good, the cinematography was horrible. They used a handheld camera for many, many of the scenes. It gave me motion sickness. Seriously, it made me want to throw up. I got so dizzy.

I was not the only one who felt that way. John, Adam, and Bonnie all agreed with me. We all just shut our eyes during the really drawn out fight scenes and car chase scenes. It was just so disorienting.

But having an evening out (dinner, too) with my lovely family (sorry, Ross, you missed out) was just such a treat. How lucky I am...

Holy Saturday, batman...

Wow, could Saturday get any better than this?

First off, had my book group. We had a smallish group this time but, as always, this is an amazing group of women. We had a rousing discussion of the book, followed by a rousing discussion of the convention and politics. Now, this is an incredibly well-read, educated, rational group of women but there is a lot of fear that this election will get 'hijacked' (read: corruption with computerized voting machines and other hijinks) among them. Can't say I am not a little worried, myself. Anyway, we had a grand old time.

Then off to my Carole King event...a thank you of sorts for volunteers and big donors of the Kerry campaign. John didn't know he was going to, but they had him speak about veteran's groups efforts. Our congressman, Earl Blumenaur was there to fire up the troops. Several speakers, then Carole King. She gave a very interesting but short speech about how to talk to your friends and neighbors (esp R's) about the election. I liked her very much. I got the chance for a short one-on-one conversation, too. She was lovely.

Now we are off to see 'The Bourne Supremacy' (Adam, Bonnie, John and I...Ross is at a b'day party and going out to see 'The Village').

More later.

is that a chipmunk or is that my son?

Adam got his wisdom teeth all pulled today. He is starting to look a little cheeky about now and he hasn't been very good at listening to his mom's advice.

When I was 23, I had to have my wisdom teeth out. I ended up getting dry socket and let me just say, it wasn't pretty. Hopefully, Adam won't have the same problems.

I have my book group meeting tomorrow morning. We are reading "Three Junes" by Julia Glass. I am loving this book. It is about three different months of June. At first, I thought it was a book about three women named June. Anyway, the writing is excellent and the characters are very real. The first part of the book focuses on Paul, who has gone on a vacation to Greece after the death of his wife. The middle section follows his son, Fenno, who has gone back to Scotland on the death of his father. The third section brings Fenno together with Fern, who we met in the first section of the book where she sketches Paul in Greece. This is this woman's first novel and she won a National Book Award for it. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

After the book group meeting, we will go off to the Carole King event. Fun...

what I will miss...

Adam and Bonnie are hanging around a bit tonight. Adam is downstairs playing the piano. He's really very good. Last summer, he decided to teach himself to play the piano. He got a few books, sat down in front of the piano, and he did it. Just like that. This summer I suggested he take some lessons from Bonnie's old piano teacher, so that he could pick up the techniques that he was missing. So, this summer, he did that. He plays quite well. Really complicated pieces (all classical, which is what Darlene teaches). She told him that he had natural musical ability. Not all that surprising, given his mathimatical talents. But impressive, nonetheless.

Bonnie has been busy on the phone, making plans with all kinds of friends. I hear her telling funny stories and laughing. She seems so lighthearted and happy. I will miss that about her. Just as I will miss Adam's British-style humor, and the constant sound of the music that surrounds him.

The moves to colleges far away is looming way too close for me right now....

Democratic thank you party...

Yay, John and I are invited to a 'Thank-you' party by the Democratic Party. It is on Saturday, and we think that Carole King may be there. This is exciting because we have friends, Kitty Swink and Armin Shimerman (both actors), who have written us and said that Carole King is a friend of theirs and we should meet her. This is very exciting because I am a HUGE fan of Carole King's. I have bought her 'Tapestry' album three times, once as a record (remember those), once as a tape, and once as a cd. Now, I have it uploaded to my iPod and love it when her songs pop up in my music mix.

John Kerry is coming to Oregon next week. John (being a vet and organizing the Oregon Vets for Kerry organization) is going to get the Oregon Bus Project to let his group use 'the bus' to follow Kerry/Edwards group around the state to support them. They are going to load the bus with Vets and have them appear with him at events.

By the way, Adam came in last night (at 2 am) and wondered what I was doing out of bed. I told him, 'worrying about you.' He very kindly apologized (good boy) and promptly dashed off to bed. Seems that he and Lynn (the girlfriend) went out to a late movie and he forgot that he would have to drive her home to Oregon City, and then drive all the way home, himself. He gets up early in the morning for work, so ... not so smart. Even geniuses can have no common sense, I guess.

worrying moms...

Okay, so it's one thirty in the morning and Adam isn't home. I have been awake since midnight worrying about him. I know that he doesn't understand this, but this is normal for a mom. He has to be up at seven and he doesn't stay out this late on a worknight, usually. It is raining out and the roads are slick. It's after midnight, so the drunks are out. Get that boy home!!!