People I've Seen Along the Way
As I travel, I'll be meeting all sorts of people - some I connected with through this web page and others I've known for years (I'm even related to some of them!)
This section gives me a chance to acknowledge some of those people - especially those who have been generous enough to open up their homes and offices to show me around and give me places to stay!
If you want to show up on the web page . . . join me at a ballgame, at a diner, in Las Vegas, or wherever you happen to be. Just let me know where you will be, and I'll do the rest.
Linda and Max outside of their home in Newburyport, MA.
I spent a much needed night off in Newburyport, MA with Linda, Richard, Max and Simon Zirin, some old family friends. Linda's daughter Johanna, who is currenlty a film student in London, is my sister Emily's oldest friend. We all grew up together in Washington, DC (and my first word was Hannah). Richard is a doctor, both Max and Simon will be taking sailing classes this summer and then Simon will be heading off to Shakespeare camp. And, Linda is one of the best moms and cooks I have ever met in my life.
When I arrived in Newburyport, Linda made the most incredible dinner of roast chicken, pasta salad, fruit salad, and other wonderful delights. She also did laundry for me as a pair of my pants had fallen prey to an exploding pen. She gave me a nice room, a phone line, and everything else I could ask for before sending me on my way to continue my journey. Thanks Linda (and the rest of the Zirin's), I had a great time!!
Scott, Eve, and Annette Turow on the front steps of their home outside of Chicago, IL
Scott Turow, lawyer, famous author (anyone ever hear of Presumed Innocent?) and my father's college roomate from Amherst College happens also to be a huge baseball fan. He has even thrown out the first pitch at Wrigley Field (from the mound). Annette Turow is an awesome mom, community activist and several other things. And, Eve Turow, despite still being young is a budding baseball/softball player and not to shabby at knitting. Not pictured is Gabe (the boy), who is at camp and Rachel who left for three weeks in Paris while I was in Cleveland.
The Turow's took me into their home on multiple occasions, fed me, fed me some more, got me to the airport to fly to Cleveland, picked me back up from the airport, fed me some more, gave me a bed, and helped me get back on the road to finish the trip. It was like home away from home. Thanks guys!!
Via Wyant and her daughters Emily and Anna at their home in Boulder, CO.
Via Wyant and her daughters opened their home to me for two days of fun, food, and
phallic symbols. Sylvia is an artist who carves phallic and vulvic symbols out of wood --
something that I had seen pictures of but hadn't realized how impressive and talented she
was until I was confronted with the statues (some measuring five feet in height) first
hand. Her youngest daughter Emily spent most of my visit at a friend's house so I didn't
get to see a lot of her, but her oldest daughter Anna cancelled all her plans to spend
time with me and Via for the weekend (which included us splashing her with water);.
Via and the girls had just moved two days prior to my arrival but were kind enough to open their doors to me and my visit. We cooked dinner, Via made an unbelievable cheesecake, and played Monopoly until the wee hours of the night -- Thanks Via!!
Here I am with Uncle Doug, Aunt Barbi and Cousin Brook at their home in Aspen, CO.
I only spent one night at Casa de Sheffer in Aspen, CO but, as always, it was a
very active 18 hours. We rolled in very late at night after the game in Denver and
Uncle Doug, Aunt Barbi, and Brook were kind enough to put me up for the night. Doug
and Barbi have a lot on their plate (indicated by 11 messages from the afternoon they
were in Denver) including a helicopter charter business, a full working ranch (including
a major lawsuit about water rights) and the construction of a new Waldorf School for
the Aspen Valley (which they are spearheading).
With all that, Doug, Barbi, and Brook still found time to have dinner with me, find someone to ride with me to LA, help me get ready for the next part of my journey. Their company, DBS AIR, Inc became a corporate sponsor of the trip, and Doug even washed the windows of my car by hand. Wow. Thanks Guys.
Here I am with Heidi Ophime, the person dumb enough to come along on part of the journey.
