Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain

Could this be another high attendance record at the Tennessee Valley Theatre?  The last time CARRIE HASSLER AND HARD RAIN performed at the venue, they broke the venue’s high attendance record and at their second visit, broke the record again.  The group will perform at the theatre located in Spring City, TN on Saturday, November 21^st at 7:30 PM ET.  Tickets are $10 per person and reservations can be made by calling 423-365-PLAY. 

Not only is the band still receiving chart success from their current Rural Rhythm Records album, “CHHR2,” but Carrie also has two new single releases:  a digital single of “Amazing Grace,” and a brand new single release of “Wildfire,” a duet with Michael Martin Murphey.  The pair recently debuted “Wildfire” before a huge audience at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Fan Fest held during the World of Bluegrass Convention last month in Nashville.

SHELTER EMERGENCY! PIKEVILLE KY SHELTER DESTROYED! Please if close get these animals out! The building was destroyed by flood and mudslide, all food gone. Late last night the Pikeville KY shelter flooded, and this morning they were hit by a mud slide, they are desperately trying to move the animals to safety . They need HELP !!!!! One building has been destroyed, holding all the dog food and supplies, the isolation building is getting ready to go any minute. It’s full of moms and babies. IF any one can come and help rescue the animals PLEASE do so. They have puppies, kittens, dogs and cats all in danger. Below are the cell phone numbers of the Shelter director and the President of the Pike County humane society, both are on site trying to move the animals to safety. PLEASE CALL if you can offer any assistants in rescuing or fostering any of the animals . All I ask is that you hurry if you can help..Rose Deskings cell # 606-794-4472 Donna Strattons cell # 606-794-4951

Part of my new job is traveling to schools. On average, I’m driving 100 miles round trip. At first, I really didn’t like it, because at my old job, I was driving barely 4 miles round trip. I’m also taking my office, which is really a rolling suitcase with compartments, everywhere with me. I have to remember to bring certain curriculum materials for that particular student at that specific school. It’s not an easy task to do. This is a huge change for me.

Yet, one of the pleasures of this new job is driving along one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Sometimes, I take pictures if I have the camera with me and if I have time to stop and shoot. Enjoy.

The following pictures are taken from the scenic outlook at Pikeville, Kentucky. One of the pictures show the “cut-through”, which means that part of the mountain was blasted off and dug out in order to make room for roads and development. This particular “cut-through” is the largest man-made movement of rocks and dirt besides the Panama Canal. Engineers moved the river and the railroads out of downtown Pikeville to this “cut-through” to make room for development and for better roads.

City of Pikeville

“The Cut-Through”

Mountains Around Pikeville

Title of the post is a big fat reference to my man, Frank Zappa. It’s one of my favorite songs of his. Coincidentally, it also might turn out to be an accurate description of my life. I’m still going to apply at other places, for sure, but it’s hard to drive by a sign that says “$8.00 an hour” and not be curious. I worked in the Fuel Center at a Kroger before, I’m sure this will pretty much be the same gig. If nothing else, it will be a steady paycheck until something else comes along. 

But, I thought you were a substitute at your old high school? What happened to that?

I was, I am, and nothing happened to that. I can still sub, but only when there is a need for me. I just can’t drive up to the school and teach each time I need to pay my cell phone bill, as stupendous as that would be. I need a steady income, folks—for now, subbing will just have to be bonus money.

UK held a See Blue Preview Night at Pikeville’s own East Kentucky Expo Center. I have my diploma already [note to self: get a frickin' frame to show that baby off] but wanted to see a friend of mine, so I headed downtown. I met up with him and we proceeded to talk about anything and nothing at all. I know him from my days working in the Central Advising and Transfer Center as a staff assistant—a job way more exciting than it sounds. I left with lots of laughs, and a huge hankering to play golf…or, something like it.

Astute observers will notice that I’ve added a “Hire Me” tab. You should check it out, and tell your friends. If it’s within reason, I’ll revise or write copy for it (read: don’t let me proofread your nuclear weapon plans, I’m a huge rat).

Must sleep, children; I have an interview tomorrow, and I need to shop my resume around. Good thing I shaved today.

Just got back from a random excursion to Louisville.  Some of you may think I’m obsessed with the city, but really I just felt like getting out of Lexington for a couple of days.  I hit some of my favorite spots, including (of course) BME.  Another profitable excursion there–picked up No More Heroes for the Wii, along with Napoleon Dynamite, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, and Primal Fear (a really great movie, and Edward Norton’s first).

I apologize for not writing more as of late.  I’m getting ready to move back to Pikeville for a while, and I’ve been trying to get things in order for that.  I’ll get back on track soon; I have all sorts of things I want to talk about, it’ll just take me some time to do it.

So much to say.  Just got back to Lexington from a wonderful Memorial Day trip to Pikeville.  Grilled food tastes better than anything else, and family’s where it’s at.  I would have loved to play golf with my brother, but his work schedule didn’t allow it.  Still, a good time had by all.  Just read through my recent posts, and realized I haven’t given a good personal update in a bit, so here you go.

I read a blog called The Simple Dollar.  The author recently decided to get in better shape, and is keeping track of his efforts in a very cool way–through an online site called Twitter (If you don’t know what Twitter is, click here for a sweet description).  I’ve been wanting to shed some pounds as well, and I think this is a cool idea.  I’m using Twitter already, so I created another account to help me keep track, on a public site, of what I eat every day.  The idea that it’s public is a little scary, but at the same time encouraging; after all, if I know that you’re going to click the link in this post and take a look at what I’ve eaten, I’ll be more likely to skip that trip to Taco Bell or Sonic.  Not that I’m gonna totally give up all things that taste good, but I need to start watching what I eat.   Consider me HealthNut 2.0.

My first week of training at my new job went well.  I think I’m going to like it there.  I eventually want to be an editor/publisher/writer, but this job gets the bills paid, and it does so with minimal invasion of my at-home privacy, so that’s a plus.  I think I may have gotten paid for today, but I’m not sure–the corporate world will do its best to fuck the new hire, of this I’m certain.  I can’t complain too much, though–the benefits look great on paper, and it’s hard to see how they wouldn’t be great in the real world.  Three more weeks of training, then I believe I get assigned to a team of some sort.  Back on the phones.  Better than being a telemarketer, that’s for damn sure.  Had that job, and wouldn’t have it again if they paid me $20 an hour.  Well, maybe for $20 an hour, but it would only last a week.  It costs me some serious gas to get to work, though.  I plan to write about this in an upcoming post.

I think my favorite part of graduating from college has been getting all my time back.  I knew I was short on time when I was at UK, but I didn’t realize just how much effort I was putting in: average of fifteen hours of classes, anywhere from 7.5 to 12 hours a week at a job on campus, and 15-25 hours a week at a second job.  That’s a lot of hours, and not a lot of rest/spare time.  I don’t know how the hell I did it, and I’m glad I don’t have to anymore.  So many things I have time to do again–read, write, play guitar, compose, play video games.  I think this is the most I’ve enjoyed summer since I was ten years old.  I don’t plan to stop.

So, in short, all is well.  Minimal amount of stress, family’s good, girlfriend’s good–overall, morale is high on the U.S.S. M. Edward Robinson.  Let’s hope this pattern continues.  Two posts are in the works; one about the commute to work in Winchester, and another about Magoo’s spa treatment (for those unfamiliar, Magoo is my truck, and is soon to have his own page, complete with pictures and short biography).

I’ll start by apologizing for the unusually long break in posting.  I went back home to Pikeville, KY for the weekend, where I don’t have an Internet connection (I view this as a good thing–sometimes, I need a break from the Internet). 

Every year during the third weekend in April, Pikeville is host to a festival called Hillbilly Days.  I know, some of you are laughing at the name, but it’s really a great time.  Over-priced yet great-tasting food, carnival rides and games, lots of live music, and the ability to walk through downtown and see everyone you’ve not seen since, well, last year.  Sure, it’s hell to find parking (that’s where it comes in handy to be familiar with the nooks and crannies) but if you ask me–and if you’re reading this, you’re at least curious–there’s no better time to be in Pikeville than when the Bluegrass Cannonball is making its rounds (and when funnel cakes are abundant).

I wish I could have taken pictures, but I didn’t remember my camera.  Maybe next year. 

(5).     Pejalan Kaki Yang Dimanjakan Di Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg menjadi kota pertama yang saya temui setelah menuruni pegunungan Great Smoky, satu diantara beberapa kota pariwisata di sisi barat laut pegunungan Great Smoky. Kota yang terletak pada elevasi sekitar 400 m di atas permukaan laut ini sebenarnya hanya berpopulasi sekitar 3.400 jiwa. Tetapi kota ini populer sebagai kota cendera mata yang hampir setiap harinya dipadati oleh wisatawan, lebih-lebih dalam liburan musim panas seperti ini. Entah bagaimana kota kecil ini bisa sedemikian menjadi pilihan tempat tujuan wisata.

Ada yang menarik ketika tiba di kota kecil Gatlinburg, yang menjelang sore hari Minggu, 2 Juli 2000 itu masih sangat padat dan ramai wisatawan. Jalan utama yang membelah kota wisata ini cukup dikendalikan dengan rambu lalulintas yang memperingatkan tentang batas kecepatan maksimum 25 mil/jam (sekitar 40 km/jam). Para pengendara yang sewaktu berada di rute pegunungan tadi sama-sama melaju kencang, tiba di kota ini serta-merta mengurangi kecepatan. Tanpa perlu dilambai-lambai oleh tangannya Pak Polisi, apalagi patungnya.

Kalau ditanya kenapa mereka bisa demikian patuh kepada aturan yang ada? Saya tidak tahu persis jawabannya. Saya hanya bisa menduga-duga, kemungkinan karena tradisi lebih mudah diatur (baca : disiplin) memang sudah menjadi bagian dari kehidupan masyarakat mereka. Atau, kemungkinan lain karena mereka takut kepada disiplin penegakan aturan yang ketat. Artinya, sekali mereka melanggar aturan maka sangsi yang tidak ringan akan dikenakan kepada mereka dengan konsekuen. Kalaupun ini benar, maka ini adalah ketakutan yang edukatif.

Saya mencoba bercermin diri : Bagaimana dengan kita? Siapa takut……? Kelihatannya kita memang lebih berani. Berani bukan karena tidak takut, melainkan karena kita punya “kebiasaan” suka memperjual-belikan rasa takut. Sehingga tidak tampak lagi beda antara patuh dan tidak patuh, disiplin dan tidak disiplin. Ah, bisa jadi cermin yang saya gunakan keliru.

Setiap beberapa puluh meter di jalan utama kota Gatlinburg ini ada tempat penyeberangan jalan (zebra cross), yang di atas aspalnya ditulis dengan tulisan besar warna putih yang berbunyi “Dahulukan Pejalan Kaki”. Maka jika terlihat ada pejalan kaki yang turun dari trotoar hendak menyeberang, tidak ada alasan lain bagi setiap pengendara kendaraan yang datang dari kedua arah selain berhenti memberi kesempatan kepada pejalan kaki untuk menyeberang.

Menjadi pejalan kaki di Gatlinburg memang benar-benar dimanjakan dengan rasa aman. Untuk menjadi pejalan kaki di kota ini nampaknya tidak diperlukan ketrampilan menyeberang jalan. Kontradiktif (tanpa bermaksud membandingkan) dengan cerita kawan-kawan saya yang tinggal di Jakarta, dimana ilmu menyeberang jalan menjadi wajib dipelajari oleh kaum pendatang untuk bisa hidup selamat di Jakarta. Alih-alih mau turun dari trotoar, lha wong masih di atas trotoar saja sudah merasa tidak aman. Berebut jalan dengan para pemain tong setan yang karena tidak punya tong lalu pindah ke trotoar.

***

Setelah melewati beberapa kota wisata yang membuat kami tidak bisa melaju cepat, akhirnya kami ketemu lagi dengan jalan Interstate 40 yang menuju ke arah timur dan lalu berpindah ke Interstate 81 menuju ke arah timur laut. Di jalan bebas hambatan ini saya memberanikan diri memacu kendaraan dengan mencuri kecepatan di atas batas maksimum, agar bisa memperkecil ketertinggalan jarak dan waktu tempuh. Sebelum tiba di perbatasan dengan negara bagian Virginia, kami berbelok ke Highway 23 yang menuju ke kota Kingsport.

Kota Kingsport terletak menjelang perbatasan antara negara bagian Tennessee dan Virginia. Hari sudah mulai gelap saat saya tiba di kota ini, dan perjalanan ke arah utara dari kota ini hanya akan melalui kota-kota kecil. Ketika berhenti sebentar untuk mengisi BBM, saya minta persetujuan terutama kepada anak-anak bahwa perjalanan akan dilanjutkan sampai agak malam dan menginap dimanapun nanti kalau ketemu kota pertama yang sekiranya enak untuk diinapi. Ini karena mengingat bahwa kami semakin tertinggal dari jarak tempuh yang seharusnya bisa dicapai akibat beberapa kali jalan merayap ketika melewati jalur padat yang kurang saya perhitungkan sebelumnya.

Melaju dalam gelap di rute jalan yang relatif sepi, awalnya memang cukup mengasyikkan. Di sebelah menyebelah jalan di dataran agak tinggi tampak pemandangan kerlap-kerlip lampu-lampu rumah yang antara satu rumah dan lainnya saling berjauhan di keremangan senja hari. Sepi sekali memang. Tetapi semakin malam menjadi semakin membosankan karena tidak ada lagi pemandangan yang bisa dinikmati di wilayah paling ujung barat dari negara bagian Virginia. Negara bagian Virginia ini mempunyai nama julukan sebagai “The Old Dominion State” dengan kota Richmond sebagai ibukotanya.

Akhirnya kami tiba di kota kecil Jenkins yang berada di perbatasan antara negara bagian Virginia dan Kentucky. Dari kota ini perjalanan masih kami lanjutkan, karena melihat suasana kota yang menurut feeling kurang enak untuk disinggahi. Sekitar sejam kemudian kami lalu tiba di kota Pikeville, yang berada di wilayah negara bagian Kentucky. Kentucky adalah negara bagian kesembilan yang saya lintasi hingga hari kedua perjalanan kami, setelah sebelumnya melintasi Virginia. Negara bagian Kentucky mempunyai nama julukan “Bluegrass State” dengan ibukotanya di kota Frankfort.

Sejak dari kota Kingsport hingga Pikeville rute jalan yang kami lalui relatif mudah karena hanya mengikuti sepanjang rute Highway 23, sehingga tidak perlu bolak-balik melihat peta. Saat tiba di kota Pikeville ini waktu sudah menunjukkan lebih jam 10:00 malam. Kami lalu mencari hotel untuk menginap di pinggiran kota kecil ini setelah lebih dahulu mampir ke McDonald di downtown, sekedar mengisi perut.- (Bersambung)

Yusuf Iskandar

(6).     Kelok Twin Falls Yang Memabukkan

Hari masih agak pagi ketika kami meninggalkan kota Pikeville selepas jam 9:00. Hari ini hari ketiga, Senin tanggal 3 Juli 2000, kami merencanakan untuk mencapai kota Wheaton di negara bagian Maryland yang terletak di sebelah utara ibukota Washington DC. Jarak yang mesti kami tempuh hari ini cukup jauh, sekitar 511 mil (atau sekitar 818 km), akibat dari ketertinggalan jarak tempuh sejak dua hari sebelumnya.

Di saat pagi hari ini kami baru melihat lebih jelas bahwa kota kecil berpenduduk sekitar 6.300 jiwa ini terletak di celah-celah perbukitan. Untuk pengembangan kotanya, masih terlihat di sana-sini bekas pekerjaan pemindahan tanah dengan memotong lereng-lereng bukit. Dari kota ini kami melaju ke arah timur laut, dan kota Williamson di perbatasan antara negara bagian Kentucky dan West Virginia adalah kota berikutnya yang kami tuju.

Kota Williamson yang berpopulasi sekitar 4.200 jiwa ini dikenal karena adanya lembah Tug yang mempunyai banyak ladang batubara. Di kota ini saya membelok ke arah timur ke jalan Highway 52, dan memasuki wilayah negara bagian West Virginia yang ibukotanya ada di Charleston. Negara bagian ini mempunyai nama julukan sebagai “Mountain State” dan ini adalah negara bagian kesepuluh yang saya lintasi.

Rute jalan ini banyak melalui kota-kota kecil yang nampak sepi, diantaranya Vaney, Mountain View dan Gilbert yang berpopulasi hanya sekitar 2.000 – 3.000 jiwa. Namun yang mengherankan ternyata di sana ada toko agen kendaraan (dealer mobil) dan terlihat mobil-mobil baru Ford berjejer di depan toko. Entah siapa pembelinya. Pertanyaan ini timbul karena sepintas saya melihat kota ini tidak terlalu padat dan tidak juga tampak sibuk dengan aktifitas bisnis.       

Dari peta terlihat bahwa perjalanan kami pagi itu masih akan terus melalui rute-rute sepi yang cukup panjang, jalan sempit dan berkelok-kelok, melewati beberapa kota kecil serta menerobos beberapa jalan State Road guna memperpendek jarak. Oleh karena itu selain menyiapkan peta agar mudah dilihat setiap saat, saya juga mesti memperhatikan rambu petunjuk jalan agar tidak kebablasan saat harus membelok di persimpangan jalan.

Mengikuti jalan-jalan di Amerika sebenarnya tidak terlalu sulit. Pada umumnya setiap jenis jalan mempunyai nomor, bahkan terkadang jalan kerikil atau tanah tak beraspal sekalipun. Pada setiap jarak tertentu akan terpasang rambu nomor jalan serta arahnya, selain rambu batas kecepatan.

Sebagai contoh, misalnya pada jalan yang membentang arah timur – barat, maka kalau saya menuju ke timur pada setiap jarak tertentu saya akan melihat rambu nomor jalan dengan tulisan “East”, demikian sebaliknya. Di setiap persimpangan jalan juga akan terpasang rambu yang menunjukkan nomor dan arahnya masing-masing.

Dengan demikian sepanjang saya bisa membaca peta dan tahu arah, rasanya tidak akan kesasar kalau saya jeli melihat rambu-rambu. Itu sebabnya dalam perjalanan ini saya sengaja membawa peta sekomplit mungkin dan melengkapi kendaraan dengan kompas. Jika sewaktu-waktu perubahan rute perlu dilakukan, maka akan memudahkan saya untuk mencari jalan alternatif serta memperkirakan jarak tempuhnya karena di peta yang saya bawa juga tertulis jarak antara setiap persimpangan dan antara kota.

***

Setiap pagi sebelum saya memulai perjalanan, semua peta dan buku panduan wisata untuk daerah-daerah yang akan saya lalui selalu saya siapkan di sebelah kanan dan kiri tempat duduk. Bahkan karena ibunya anak-anak kurang berpengalaman dalam urusan perpetaan (maklum, karena tidak pernah ikut kuliah Perpetaan) maka saya terpaksa berdwi-fungsi : ya sopir, ya navigator. Karena itu seringkali jika menjelang tiba di daerah-daerah yang agak rumit rute jalannya, peta-peta itu sudah saya lipat sedemikian rupa lalu saya letakkan di atas pangkuan sehingga bisa sambil nyopir sambil sesekali melirik peta.

Saya sangat sadar bahwa ini memang tindakan yang tidak aman dan tidak seharusnya saya lakukan karena terlalu riskan, terutama jika berada di kawasan yang lalu lintasnya padat dan cepat. Kalau sudah demikian biasanya saya tidak mau diajak ngomong karena khawatir konsentrasi terganggu. Anak-anak pun biasanya memahami hal ini. Resiko semacam ini terkadang saya ambil demi tidak mau kehilangan waktu untuk berhenti membuka-buka peta, selain karena memang tidak diperbolehkan berhenti di sembarang tempat.

Untuk menghindari hal ini apalagi jika di saat hari sudah gelap, seringkali rute jalan yang akan saya lalui lebih dahulu sudah saya hafalkan di luar kepala, termasuk nama jalan, arah, jumlah persimpangan dan tanda-tanda fisik seperti yang biasanya ada dalam peta situasi. Layaknya siswa SMP yang sedang belajar peta buta. Dalam hal ini kompas yang terpasang di mobil sangat membantu saya dalam bernavigasi. Kebiasaan ini terutama saya lakukan ketika masuk ke jalan-jalan di dalam kota.

Demikian pula karakteristik sistem berlalu lintas selalu menjadi observasi saya setiap kali masuk ke sebuah kota. Pada umumnya setiap kota mempunyai sistem lalu lintas yang sama, tetapi seringkali setiap kota mempunyai karakteristik untuk tanda-tanda tertentu yang mudah diingat, selain rambu lalu lintas yang memang standard. Seperti misalnya warna dan bentuk tulisan, penggunaan kata-kata tertentu, lokasi pemasangannya, dsb. Ternyata ini memang menguntungkan dan sangat membantu untuk beradaptasi dalam berlalu-lintas di kota itu.

***

Setiba di pertigaan di kota Gilbert, dari Highway 52 saya berbelok ke utara ke State Road (SR) 80, selanjutnya belok ke timur ke SR 10, dan belok lagi ke arah timur laut ke SR 16, hingga masuk ke Interstate 77 di sisi barat kota Beckley. Rute panjang sejak kota Williamson hingga Beckley sejauh 115 mil (sekitar 184 km) adalah jalur melalui lereng dan celah perbukitan. Rute jalannya cukup enak dan teduh karena melewati daerah pedesaan Amerika yang rimbun dengan pepohonan.

Melewati kota-kota kecil yang sepi, yang terkadang nyaris tampak seperti kota tak berpenghuni. Badan jalannya sendiri sebenarnya tidak terlalu lebar, berkelok-kelok tajam, terutama saat menyisir lereng selatan di perbukitan kawasan hutan lindung Twin Falls.

Enaknya, meskipun sudah ada rambu batas kecepatan maksimum, pada setiap tikungan tajam selalu ada rambu bantu batas kecepatan yang dianjurkan. Maka kalaupun mau mencuri kecepatan, dari jauh sudah bisa memperkiraan kira-kira mau “mencuri berapa km/jam” agar laju kendaraan masih aman dan terkendali saat memasuki tikungan. Mengemudi menjadi lebih enak karena umumnya setiap pengemudi patuh terhadap rambu lalulintas.

Betapapun kendaraan beriringan panjang dan yang paling depan berjalan lambat misalnya, kalau di bagian tengah aspal jalan masih bertanda garis penuh warna kuning, maka tidak satupun ada yang berusaha menyalip. Tetapi begitu garis kuning pemisah lajur berubah menjadi garis putus-putus, maka mulailah kendaraan yang lebih cepat berusaha menyalip.

Saya jadi ingat kejadian beberapa tahun yang lalu, ketika sopir bis-bis jurusan Malang – Surabaya mutung (ngambek), mogok narik penumpang gara-gara Pak Polisi menerapkan aturan soal garis kuning pemisah lajur ini. Akhirnya, Pak Polisi yang kemudian mengalah, dan garis kuning tetap ada di sana, tidak dihapus. Lha ya siapa yang mau menghapus cat kuning di tengah jalan antara Malang dan Surabaya. Jadi? Aturan berlalu-lintas dibuat dan tidak untuk dipatuhi?. Saya percaya ini hanya kasus, dan tentunya tidak dapat untuk menggeneralisir.       

***

Melaju dengan kecepatan antara 45-55 mil/jam (sekitar 72-88 km/jam), melewati tikungan-tikungan tajam memang cukup mengasyikkan. Badan pun ikut meliuk-liuk berlawanan arah dengan gerakan kendaraan. Awalnya menyenangkan, tapi lama-lama anak-anak mulai protes karena duduknya jadi tidak nyaman. Semakin lama anak-anak mulai tidak terdengar suaranya, dan saya merasa semakin menikmati liukan-liukan menyusuri rute berkelok-kelok. Sekitar dua setengah jam saya habiskan melalui rute ini, hingga mendekati kota Beckley.

Menjelang masuk kota Beckley, anak laki-laki saya yang berumur 7 tahun mengeluh perutnya mual dan sakit. Wah, barulah saya sadar. Pantesan sejak tadi tidak ada suaranya, pasti karena menahan rasa tidak enak di perutnya. Rupanya mabuk kendaraan akibat jalan yang meliuk-liuk tadi. Tanpa pikir panjang, begitu terlihat ada warung McDonald, langsung saja belok dan parkir. Saat itu juga anak saya membuka pintu mobil, dan ……semua isi perutnya dimuntahkan. Bekal minyak kayu putih pun segera difungsikan. Asli lho…., sisa dari membeli di pasar Sentul Yogya dua tahun yang lalu.

Kami lalu beristirahat agak lama di daerah ini, sekalian makan siang dan mengendurkan otot-otot kaki yang tegang sejak dua setengah jam tadi bermain gas dan rem, tanpa kopling dan persneling. Seperti umumnya mobil di Amerika yang menggunakan sistem pemindah gigi otomatis. Barangkali disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan orang Amerika yang ingin serba praktis dan tidak suka repot. Kalau memang memudahkan, kenapa tidak?- (Bersambung)

Yusuf Iskandar

Anything other than a blowout would have been unacceptable. Hustle and team unity were improved, evident through players diving and scrapping for loose balls. Strength and conditioning were obviously improved from last season. Gillispie’s timeout management and substitution patterns made a lot more sense than in previous years. The tempo of the game was appropriate– the CATS played fast when they had to and slowed down to concentrate on defense when situations called for it. Hands down, the biggest area of improvement was 3 point line defense. Limit teams 3 point percentage and you will win games.

Some people might not find this all that interesting and might think it’s utter crap not worthy of reading but oh well. Kay Serah Serah I say. I had a lot of fun on this little adventure. I paid quite a bit of money to go and I took advantage of every penny spent.As you know from my previous posts (which are out of order by date because of the mobile blogging by the way) I’ve been in the south and eastern part of the States for the last 10 days.

When this trip was originally planned I was supposed to spend the entire time in Bluffton Indiana where my grandmother, cousins, aunts and uncles live. There came a snag in the system the night before I was to leave when I found that my grandmother would be in Kentucky in my aunt and uncle. They wouldn’t be coming back to Bluffton until the evening before I had to leave to fly back to California.I was in a real dilema. It is uncertain how much longer my grandmother will be around and I’ve only just begun building a relationship with her (and the rest of the whole fam damily) recently.

That’s one of my first cousins, Randy. He rode his motorcycle to my aunt’s house and went to her husband’s family reunion with them. Then he rode with my other cousin for 6 hours to Indianapolis to meet me. This plan was spur of the moment and took a lot of wrangling to achieve. I completely forgot I”d have to drive all the way back to Indianapolis by myself.Randy comes from the Patterson and Pace bloodline and both of them are extremely colorful. The outlaw Jesse James was a Pace and the Patterson’s are known for their meanness and trouble making ways. Through him, the traditions live on.

Randy lives in a holler. That’s not hollow, as in Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp, it’s holler as in a small village in the depths of the mountains.Here’s a picture of the holler Randy lives just outside the town of Pikeville where Hillybilly Days takes place.
The area surrounding Randy’s place is positively true natural beauty. The vegetation is so lush and green that it’s almost a dark blue in places. His house backs right up to the mountain separated only by a small creek. There’s a million little cemeteries scattered throughout the Kentucky mountains and there’s even one directly across that one lane paved road from Randy’s house.Here’s the creek, including little fish and cemetery. You can click on them to see a larger view.

I took this picture just after it had rained. Everything had that earthy wet smell and the creek looked so pretty in the gloom.

I actually ended up walking through that creek trying to take these pictures because everything was so wet that my foot slipped and I ended up right in it.

It was worth it though because when you see the enlarged view of these pics you’ll see how picturesque it really is.

See what I mean? Just Gorgeous!

You’ll want to look at the cemetery pics enlarged. Randy’s sister lives in the house that’s just behind this graveyard.

This is one of those graveyards that the coal companies gave to people to bury their loved ones. There’s no records or mapped out plots but people do seem to visit and do upkeep on it.

They say this graveyard is haunted and Randy’s wife Paula is scared to go up there at night. Course it could be the bear spottings that has her scared.

That’s the same cemetery at night. I found out later that there has been 3 bear attacks this year. There are bears, mountain lions and panthers roaming around and at night they come right into people’s yards. Maybe I shouldn’t have been up there on that mountain at night time.

Here’s a turtle I found in Randy’s driveway one morning. It was so cool I thought it warranted a picture. Hungry little fellow. I took him back to the creek so he wouldn’t get run over.

One night my cousin decided to take me ghost hunting. His best friend and my other cousin Ashley came with us. That was the night I took the picture of the sign on a post at the bootlegger place. Randy and his friend got completely shit-faced drunk. I don’t really drink and I was driving a rental car so I was sober. Ashley had a beer and was perfectly capable of standing on her own two feet without stumbling. I can’t say that much for Randy and his friend. We didn’t get in until 6:30 the next morning and his wife was crazy pissed off about it. Can’t blame here though.

I won’t bother posting the pictures from our ghost hunt because there’s too many of them and I’m already probably boring you to death but I will share this little bit with you. One of the places we went was an old coal miner’s abandoned house. Other people have lived there since but it’s been many years.

Since that time people have used it to party in. There’s no running water or electricity in the house so I had to use my flash.It was so dark in that house that we couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces and Randy didn’t think about bringing along a flashlight. We didn’t know it at the time but there was a bat flying around in there. I didn’t find out until I put this picture on my computer.

I blew it up in adobe so you can really see the bat.

My last day in Kentucky was for a family reunion that I didn’t find out about until I got my aunt’s house on that first day. I met so many people I can’t remember their names but it felt good to suddenly have family surrounding me for probably the first time ever in my life.

One of my 2nd or 3rd cousins, not sure which, took me to see my great grandmother and grandfather’s graves. There are several relatives buried nearby in another coal mining graveyard. Here they are.
I also got to see the property they once lived one. I had been there as a small child and although the memories are very fuzzy, standing in that spot felt like de ja vue. The last place she took me was up further into the holler (oh and I forgot to mention I am related in one way or another to almost every person in this holler) where I was able to see where my mother was born. There’s nothing left except a chimney and it’s near impossible to walk up to it because there’s a steep ravine and a creek to cross.

You’ll have to look closely but that’s the chimney that remains from the house my mother was born in.

I left Kentucky the next day. I left early and spent the entire day driving from Pikeville to Bluffton Indiana where I spent my last three days with my other relatives.

While in Bluffton I stayed one night with another aunt and got to roast smores with her grand daughters and join in on their once a year afternoon tea party complete with hats, scarves, gloves and fans. I’ll never forget that. I’d post pictures but I don’t share pics of little girls.

I also got to visit my grandfather’s grave and some of his family member’s graves in Bluffton. Here’s his grave and a picture of the picture of my grandparents that’s on his grave.

That’s my grandmother and grandfather. Two people who fascinate me and yet they are people who I’ve barely known. In the case of my grandfather, a person I’ve never even met.

There’s a lot more I’d love to tell you about but this post is already outrageously long. Now that I got all that out of my system it will be back to the regular routine of weirdness and strange things that run through my head.

Until next time….