All About the Last Minute

A quick update before I hit the road

When I was in high school, my best friend Matt and I both had big term papers due in English class, and neither one of us had done them. We both skipped school the day the papers were due, and I went to his house to wait out the school hours. Our intention of finishing those assignments quickly went by the wayside as we clowned around, at one point freestyle rapping with a microphone plugged into his dad’s stereo.

This wasn’t for the English teacher of mine who’s a subscriber to this Substack, but regardless, I feel a little reckless coming clean even at this late date.

The point is, I never accomplish much without the threat of a looming deadline (or, in some cases, the damage control of the day after). Thus it makes sense that I’m planning to leave for Matt’s house in North Carolina in about six hours, and that I’m not done packing my stuff, nor have I gone to bed yet. I’m going, and ready to sleep, and hoping my recent streak of a good six or seven hours at a stretch continues tonight.

I’m not too pressed about it, though. The house is clean, the laundry’s done, and I’m not on too tight of a schedule. Once we hit the road, my only goal is to a) at some point eat more potato cakes at a meal stop, and b) get there when we get there. A few days of seeing friends and goofing off are on tap, with nothing more taxing than possibly going over some game notes and doing a little writing.

I mentioned I’d be taking next week off from Substack posts. I might throw together an update with some vacation photos and restaurant reports… or I might not! Once I’m back here at my desk, we’ll resume normal dispatches.

Stay safe out there, and don’t lose hope. We’re gonna need you before this is all over.