Tripping to Milwaukee for a high school reunion

Death on Ridge Road by Grant Wood

I’m off to Milwaukee for my 50th high school reunion. It’s almost midnight and I haven’t started packing yet! Need to leave the house by 8am to catch a flight out of Albany.

My last trip to Wisconsin, twelve years ago, was excruciatingly painful. I developed trigeminal neuralgia, maybe from clogged ears on the plane followed by a lukewarm and dirty motel swimming pool. I drove around in agony, alone in a rented car, stopping at emergency rooms all over the state in search of a diagnosis and pain relief. Ended up at a liquor store on a rainy Saturday night in St. Paul, from whence I was due to fly home the next day. Had been trying to find the Mall of America but kept getting lost on thruways.

I told the liquor store clerk, “I’m afraid I’m a danger to myself or others.” She promptly called 911 and I found myself locked in the back of a cop car, trying to convince the officer I’d only been kidding. Having worked in mental health for many years, I knew perfectly well that my words were a red flag. Luckily I escaped arrest, and the officer helped direct me to an inn for the night.

This trip has got to be better! I hope to check in here along the way, but I’ll be using my husband’s laptop, which is old and cranky – a lot like me.