Sea Legs

Today was much better. Well, in a way it was. I spent most of it driving around Santa Barbara trying to figure out how to deal with banks and unions. It turns out that a death certificate is the key to pretty much everything. The problem is that it doesn't come for 10 business days but we'll see. They might hustle it up.

My father's friends continued to clean his place while I assisted in taking apart some furniture and dealing with little things around the place.

The day ended with meeting his friends at a local coffee shop in a ritual they call "the office." Together, they talk about their day and do the daily jumble from the newspaper. It was during this time that I nearly lost my cool.

I have all my important information in a little moleskin notebook. Phone numbers, account numbers, people's names, etc... For a moment, I thought I had lost it and started looking around. Simultaneously, a teacher's union starts marching down the street complete with marching band. So, I'm looking around frantically for this small book while people are yelling in support for these 200 or so teachers who are marching on the sidewalk where I am while blowing whistles. It was right at the apex of that when a distant cousin who I've never talked to decides to call me on the cell phone. It was a tough moment to describe over the phone.

Needless to say, I found the notebook and all went well. Still, it's hard to deny that Santa Barbara is one large circus show.

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During the summer after my 6th grade, my dad and I took a road trip from Rochester, Michigan to Binghamton, New York, where he grew up. It was a nice experience for the 2 weeks or so we were on the road. I learned many things about him and from him. I guess that his nickname growing up was "fuzz" because of his shaved head but he always hated hearing it, even as an adult.

The funny thing about this trip is that I can't remember anything specific about this trip, just general feelings. There's no specific story that I can recall other than my refusing to go into a Veteran's hall and deciding to stay in a sweltering car while he took his sweet, good time. I guess we were both stubborn in our own respect. The trip itself was very important, though, as I got to meet my other side of the family and spent a lot of good time with him as I was coming into my own.