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My trip to Philadelphia this week went OK. I like to travel
early, so my journey started when I left the house at 5 AM. I
had my rental car and was checked into my hotel by 2 PM, leaving
some time for adventure. "What does one do with a few hours in
the city of brotherly love?," I asked, and I decided on seeing
the historic sites in the city center.
Figuring out the freeways and how to get from one place to
another wasn't as easy as I thought, and I ended up on a bridge
to Camden, New Jersey on my first attempt. I drove several
miles before I could find a place to turn around, and even then
I had to figure out how to do it through back streets, since
left turns were not allowed. I suppose that helps traffic keep
flowing on busy highways, but it was a first for me. I gladly
paid the $3 toll to escape back across the Delaware River to
Pennsylvania, where they still allow left turns.
It took quite awhile to find a place to park, in spite of
following the signs. The entrance to an underground parking
garage near the Independence National Historic Park was very
well hidden for a country bumpkin like me. I had to park on the
street temporarily and ask someone, and she actually walked with
me to the entrance to show me. Very kind of her. I would
discover later that my two hours of parking would cost $10.
Welcome to the city!
The first step when visiting the Park is to go through a
security screening every bit as intense as an airport; metal
detectors, searches of packs and purses, X-rays, and all that.
The liberty bell is in a building of its own, but you can get
close enough to almost touch it. And no, they haven't fixed that
crack yet.
Next was a stroll through Congress Hall, which served as the
home of both the Pennsylvania State Legislature and the
fledgling United States Congress for several years. Such a
simple building compared to what would come later in the marble
monstrosities of Washington, D.C..
The guided tour through Independence Hall was the highlight of
the trip. As I stood there in the room where both the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated,
finalized, and ultimately signed, I became lost in wonder at the
brilliance, energy and courage of all those standard bearers of
the Enlightenment, Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine, Ben Franklin,
John Adams, and all of the many others. What masterpieces of
hope for humanity they created. When the tour group began filing
out, I wakened from my reverie and wiped the tears from my
cheeks. I walked silently out, the last to leave.
The job interview on Tuesday seemed to go alright. I had a
delightful trip back to the hotel with a woman from the HR
department in her well used mini-van, a native of Philly who
wouldn't dream of living anywhere else. If I had any concerns
about the friendliness of big city northeasterners, they were
dispelled in that 30 minute ride.
My journey home began once again at 5 AM in a cold drizzle.
How wonderful to step off the plane into warm sunshine once
again.
The weather here for the weekend has turned out better than
expected, so M and I spent yesterday afternoon enjoying the sun
at the lake. We decided to take a ride in the little flat
bottom boat, but I misjudged the amount of fuel in the tank.
We got about 3 miles upstream and the motor sputtered and died.
Nothing but fumes left.
I wasn't worried, since I knew someone would come by and offer
to assist eventually, but we began paddling back nonetheless.
Within ten or fifteen minutes, a fisherman and his wife came by
and asked if we needed a tow, and we gladly accepted. When we
finally reached our boathouse, they cast us off and we thanked
them for their help. We capped off the afternoon with a catfish
dinner and drove home with the top down.
Being fiercely independent by nature, it has taken me many years
to realize that allowing someone to do a good deed for you is
one of the best gifts you can ever give. And of course being the
doer of the good deed brings fulfillment that cannot be matched.
I think this is known as a win-win proposition.
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I
haven't set aside much time to write lately; too many other
things to do. I returned from Houston Wednesday afternoon after
getting my business taken care of there, then spent the rest of
the week building a floating dock that has been on the schedule
of lake improvements for awhile. M and I almost finished it
yesterday, but we were a few boards short. It was a good mental
challenge to figure out how to move the frame of the thing from
land into the water on Friday by myself, using just simple
tools. Have to keep my problem solving skills sharp so I can
make money with them again some day.