July 12 , 2007 Issue

For a writer who generally has a lot to say, there’s nothing much worse than facing a blank computer page with no clear idea of what to put on the page. Yep, it’s a deadline day and no more delays are possible.

Sure, there’s politics, but how depressing is that? Then there is local stuff worth commenting on, but I just can’t summon the energy to go there this morning. So by process of elimination and a failure to be inspired, here is this issue’s offering:

There is a certain freedom in only needing an Internet connection to be able to work. After wrapping up the last issue of the paper, I took a road trip to Illinois to see the newest member of my family, one-year-old Arianna Ferraro. She is the daughter of my niece, my great-niece, and the trip is all her fault. The proud mama sent me an invitation to her daughter’s first birthday party, which made me laugh. The photo showed Arianna with a pair of pants on her head and wearing a bib inscribed, “I coo, I goo, I poo.” I laughed. It was so darn cute. I knew I couldn’t go to the party itself, as it was scheduled for a deadline weekend, but there wasn’t much stopping me from going north ahead of the party and actually laying my eyes on the child and wrapping my arms around her.

So I got online and mapped out my trip. I’m not one to put my foot on the pedal and keep going until I reach my destination. Even though it is only about 1000 miles to Joliet, Ill. I wasn’t able to leave until mid-day on the first day, so I decided to take my time getting there. After identifying my first stop, I found a roadside inn that would welcome me, my credit card, and my dog. If you ever need to find a hotel/motel with your pet, check out petswelcome.com, a terrific resource for this sort of thing.

One might think traveling with a dog is difficult, but I maintain it is easier than traveling with some people. The dog never complains about the book I’m listening to or tells me to speed up and pass a car. Snazzy is content to shove her head out the window at 70 miles an hour or perching on the console to look out the front window. She needs fewer bathroom breaks than I do and waits patiently in the car when I stop to eat knowing a big treat will be coming her way when I return. In short, a perfect traveling companion.

After loading up on books on CD at the library, I was on the road. I left on a Wednesday and rolled into Joliet on a Friday. For some reason, I get off track every time I am in Illinois and took a detour of about 60 more miles than needed, but I finally reached my sister’s house. As I needed to work while there, I had booked a nearby motel with a high speed Internet connection for the length of my stay and asked everyone to come to me, since I had already driven a goodly distance. Each of my nieces lives 30 or 40 miles from their mother and I thought my nieces could bring their kids to me and we could all go swimming in the hotel’s pool, which we did.

This was my first stay in a Comfort Inn and I have to say the name comfort was no lie. I had, without a doubt, the best bed I have ever had in a motel. It was a king-sized bed made by Spring Air (I asked). There were five large soft pillows, a desk and an easy chair, plus microwave and fridge. I literally had all the comforts of home. I will stay in motels of this chain again in a heartbeat. Since buying a new bed of my own last fall, I have had trouble sleeping elsewhere. Not this time. The weather was incredible, no humidity and about 70 degrees. The planets were aligned for my comfort in every way.

During my stay, I was able to spend evenings with my sister and even got a chance to play euchre with real people instead of online. After a Fourth of July barbeque with the whole clan, Snazzy and I headed home on July 5, rolling into Fort Walton Beach on July 6 with nary a close call on the great American highways. That, my friends, is freedom.

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