Entries tagged as ‘on the road’
I was driving home from an assignment in North Carolina when my editors asked me to detour to Hampton Roads.
Can you get there faster? How fast can you get there? my editors asked over and over again.
I got pulled over and given a reckless driving ticket in Emporia, Va. (Which I now know is one of the top speed traps in the country — so if you’re ever anywhere near there — SLOW DOWN. I was pulled over a block after the speed limit sign changed as I was braking for a red light.)
I told the officer I was a reporter going to breaking news. He didn’t care.
I hired a lawyer. I paid the fine.
Yesterday, I got a letter from the DMV saying my license is suspended.
?!
I called the court. They acknowledge that I paid the exact fine they told me to pay, but it turns out they asked for the wrong amount. So, because they made a clerical error, I owed $10. The court revoked my driving privileges over $10.
They were a lot nicer this morning after my lawyer yelled at them.
So, I’m sitting here, homebound, waiting for the DMV to process the paperwork reinstating my license. An editor just called and asked me to jump in the car and “fly” to another story, “as quick as you can.”
Yeah, I can’t do that.
“I’m going to tell everyone you’re a felon,” she said.
Categories: reporting live · travel
Tagged: emporia, hit the brakes in emporia, on the road, reckless driving
Did I tell you about Memorial Day weekend, a friend asked last night.
Nope.
She went to visit her mother, and they shared an apple pie a la mode.
Then, they both got violently upset stomachs.
My friend wanted to go home. Since she was sick, her mother wanted her to stay.
Her drive home is four hours through the country. There’s long stretches without rest stops.
I opened the hall closet and mother had a package of Depends, she said. I thought, ‘Crazy astronaut.’
(I was thinking crazy, diapered Lisa Nowack might not have been so crazy myself when I was driving home from Pennsylvania Friday. I was stuck in bumper to bumper no-moving traffic for hours, feeling incredibly jealous of guys who just pulled over and walked into the grass. When I finally did stop — I went to five freaking places and no one had a public restroom.)
So, I put one on, my friend continued.
You did not.
I did.
Liar, liar, I said. I call bullshit.
They are quite comfortable, my friend said. They breathe.
(!)
Her mom told her to take an extra one — just in case.
She did.
You can not even tell you’re wearing them. There’s no line. They don’t bunch up, she continued. My 72-year-old mother refuses to wear them. But I love them. I’m telling everyone.
Are you going to go to Costco and get a case? I asked. You can keep them in the glove compartment.
I just might, she said.
Categories: reviews · travel
Tagged: crazy astronaut didn't have a bad idea, on the road
On my way to Philly, I stopped at a gas station. Are you all by yourself? an attendant asked.
Yes.
He just shook his head.
What’s wrong with that?
Since when did you need a plus-one to drive across state lines? But, I looked around, and I was the only single girl at that sprawling rest stop.
A few minutes later, I was interviewing a Guaetmalan man.
He asked if I had kids.
No. But I have always wanted to adopt a little Guatemalan baby.
Do you have a husband? he asked.
No.
Well, you have a boyfriend, right? he asked.
No.
Why not? he asked. Are you difficult?
Maybe, I am. I’ve been thinking about that question all day. I think I’m a lot less difficult than I used to be. I mean, 12 years ago, I spent like five hours arguing with an editor because I wanted to call one of the pony’s at the annual Chincoteague pony penning, a “horsie” instead of a horse. I’m definitely easier to edit now. (Maybe I’m easier to date, too.).
I’m going to pray for you, he said. I’m going to pray that you find a husband.
My mom’s been doing that my whole life.
Categories: hmmm · travel
Tagged: chincoteague, difficult women, guatamlean babies, on the road, truck-stop-single
I got home from Pittsburgh last night.
This morning, I locked myself out of my apartment. (My dog sitter had flipped the door so it automatically locked behind you.)
Luckily, she was home when I showed up at her door in my pajamas. (I’m so glad she was home, as I didn’t have my cell phone or any cash or a real good alternate plan for getting back inside.)
As soon as I got back into the house, my phone rang with an editor asking me to go to NY. I heart NY. So I got a train.
I sat next to the governor. ”The Amtrak workers should be executed,” he told me when he sat down. He found it absolutely unacceptable that the doors to the train were broken so we had to walk a little further to get onto the train.
I told him I didn’t really think this was an executionable offense — but he would better than me. I mean, isn’t that part of his job?
Now I’m curious to check the death rate in his state. I’m going to look that up tomorrow.
Unfortunately, I left my new super-warm ski boots at home (because I didn’t think they looked like a professional.) That was a very bad choice. Because, it turns out, my job for the next two days is to stand outside in the cold. Tonight, I can’t feel my toes.
When I got to my assignment in NY, I was standing outside with a group of paparazzi. (One of them was wearing my exact same boots that I really wished I was wearing, but they’re in my apartment.)
A woman walked by and asked us why we were there. I wanted to ask her why she was wearing a short-sleeved fur coat.
The paps kept making up stories to tell the strangers. Their favorite was to say that a really famous politician from Spain died — he got stabbed like, 46 times, they told passersby. It’s major news, the paps said, don’t you watch the news?? One photographer got really angry — and kept saying that he was going to ask people how much money they make.
“As long as we’re being rude,” he said.
Categories: reporting live · travel
Tagged: i didn't think it got colder, on the road
The pilot announced that it was 10 Degrees when we landed in Pittsburgh this morning.”Are you serious?” everyone on the plane shouted.Stepping off the plane, I learned that 10 Degrees is seriously cold. I also learned that Pittsburgh is Mr. Rogers’s neighborhood. (They have his sweater and sneakers in a glass case in the airport. A few feet away is a Victoria’s Secret. Pittsburgh’s airport is basically, a mall. I’ve decided it’s my new favorite airport. Two weeks ago, I spent a day stuck at the Nola airport. That is a boring airport that really hasn’t ramped up since Katrina. Last week, I spent a day trapped at the Nashville airport (which, is even more boring than Nola’s airport). But the Pittsburgh airport has a dinosaur model, and a swarovski crystal store… it just seems like a place where I can happily kill some time. Hopefully, I won’t have to.)I stopped at a gas station to pick up a bottle of water. Some guy walked inside the stop-and-go, took off his shoes and started jumping up and down.He yelled to his friend, “Dude, I couldn’t feel my toe. I started jumping up and down — and it broke off!”I hope that’s not true. I need snow boots.
Categories: travel
Tagged: i'm so cold., on the road
