Episode LXXXIII: Summers in Kansas

Summer in Kansas is winding down. If I am lucky, it will be my last summer in Kansas. I find Midwest autumns to be amazing and incredible, Midwest springs to be quite nice, Midwest winters to be exciting and generally tolerable, but Midwest summers? No thank you.

Nonetheless I did have some good times this summer. For instance:

Kyle came out for a couple weeks. Spent a couple days here in Lawrence, but most of it in Iowa. We went to Des Moines and played Frisbee at the capitol building:

And in the capitol building:

And in the fountain across from the capitol building:

And we got the true rural experience, using a giant excavator to dig up dirt and stuff.

I must say, that while Kansas is not the most exciting place in the world in terms of attractions and things, Iowa is twice as bad! And on top of that, I got really shoddy (almost non-existent) cell reception the whole weekend, up until we were finally on the interstate that led us back out of Iowa.

Speaking of driving, Trusty Rusty (my truck) hit a major milestone this summer: 100,000 miles! Yes, you heard right: a 24-year-old truck, with only 100,000 miles on it.

It just so happened that we hit 100k right in the middle of a thunderstorm, on the highway, on the way to play a show with my band. I nonetheless took the time to get off the highway so that I could get a picture of the odometer, as well as pose with Rusty (thanks to photographer/roommate Rafael.)

Coincidentally, I think, within the next week or two: (1) I cracked my front blinker light, (2) my brake light switch malfunctioned so that the brake lights were always on, (3) the blinkers stopped working altogether, and (4) as a consequence of a number of factors (long story) my parked truck, as my neighbor explained, “started rolling down the hill” (albeit very slowly) in my condo’s parking lot:

Not to worry, though, I have fixed nearly all those problems, without even spending a dime. Rusty- here’s to 100,000 miles more!