Sly Stallone and a snit

I'm a little behind on the posts but I should be caught up pretty quick!

Aug. 14
Barry's parents headed up North for a week of vacation in the morning so I got kicked out of the house and moved into a motel. I needed a day to rest my feet. Turning on the TV I was pleased to find Cobra starring Sly Stallone just starting (Stop being Sly and be a little more Frank). What a great film. The best was the end where Sly and the bad guy are fighting in a steel factory with molten metal all over the place. I couldn't help but compare that to the battle between Obi-wan and Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith on the planet with the lava and volcanoes. I'm pretty sure George Lucas stole that idea from Cobra. Of course, the movie after Cobra was the first Star Wars movie which started a marathon of the original trilogy. With Star Wars, a House marathon and a Top Shot marathon all playing throughout the day my day was set! The cherry on top was the airing of Independence Day, my favorite movie of all-time. What a lucky guy! I did not move much all day, quite the change of pace, but a much needed one!

Aug. 15
Barry's grandma came and picked me up to bring me back to Milton to continue my hike. First, she bought me breakfast at Ray's in Edgerton which serves food on plates the shape of a pregnant triangle. If thats not a sign, I don't know what is! Barry's family was extremely generous and kind-hearted. If only more people were like them in the world. After being dropped off, I hiked to Janesville where I came to Terapin street. The spelling may be a bit off, but my mind went instantly into Terrapin Station by the Dead. With nothing to believe in, the compass always points to Terrapin. I love that line. Some rise, some fall, some climb, to get to Terrapin.

Janesville is starting to grow on me. I didn't care for it before, but the nice parks and trails were great. There was a billboard in town thanking Janesville for having the number 1 Cost-Cutters in the nation for the past 21 years. I'm not sure that is something to brag about. Next to that billboard was a sign for a guy running for some political seat. It said something like "Mike Johnson #44". Gotta love someone using their old football number to run for office! Janesville is like that kid in school who is reading the Boxcar Children books in 6th grade while everyone else is reading Huck Finn or other classics. They finish the book and run to the teacher so excited that they read the whole book and the teacher just pats them on the head, smiles and says "good job." They may not be the brightest kid in class but their enthusiasm for what they do endears them to you.

Walking into Janesville, I ran into Randy who picked me up and brought me to a bar for a drink. Now that's how staff should treat volunteers! He called his friend Sara and asked if I could stay over. She said yes, so Randy dropped me back off and I finished my hike through Janesville. They have a great bike trail through town, with lots of people using it. I like to see people actually using the beautiful trails. The trail runs by where the local water ski show is held. It is also the place where my friend Emily won the national champhionship for water skiing a few years back! That's awesome! Making it to the Devil's Staircase segment, I had Randy pick me up. We headed to a bar for a bloody and a snit before heading to Sara's house for dinner. While Randy cooked the chicken on the grill, Sara and I discussed classic Katherine Hepburn movies and musicals. I got the feeling Randy doesn't talk about "cultured" things like that. I think the only cultured thing about Randy is his smell. I give Randy crap, but he's a good guy. The dinner was great and so was the company. Sara was extremely nice and a treat to talk to! Randy made malts for dessert and we washed them down with some amaretto which I somehow spilled. Whoops! Time for bed.