Next weekend I depart LA for my biennial trip to my hometown of Louisville to visit family.  Actually, it’s Jeffersonville, a tiny hamlet in Southern Indiana. What sucks is that there are no direct flights to Derbytown from LA, so one can either fly to Chicago and then to Louisville, or fly to Indy and then drive down.  I usually choose the latter.

Anyway, I have a standard itinerary of must-dos upon my arrival there:

  1. White Castles for breakfast, White Castles for lunch, White Castles for dinner, White Castles for 3:00 AM snack because there’s nothing better to do in Southern Indiana.
  2. Visit the grave of a childhood friend who passed away when I was 14. This time I’ll also stop by the grave of my grandmother, who passed away two years ago almost to the day that I arrive.  We weren’t ever extremely close, but I couldn’t make the funeral and I want to pay my respects.
  3. Visit my brother from another mother, James and see what job he’s working this week.  James is a good dude, and fun to hang around, but even in his 40s, he’s still not quite sure what he wants to do with his life…no scratch that, he knows (that’d be hanging around the hood, smoking and drinking), it’s just that supporting that lifestyle is an ever-changing process.
  4. Visit my other brother from another mother, Jason and his family.  Jason and I just found each other four years ago.  We both have the gene that regulates sucking at keeping in touch.  We’ll have to see if we can rectify that.
  5. Hit Value City and buy my wardrobe for the next two years.
  6. Get even more lost as the roads there have been changing like crazy
  7. Drive around the old neighborhood and reminisce on the good ole days that seem like a lifetime ago.  Then hit upon the realization – again – that home ain’t home so much anymore since my mother passed five years ago.

However, this is a special occasion because my niece is graduating from my old high school.  And she’s going to my alma mater of Ball State University in the fall.  She’s managed to get an assload of scholarships and programs that didn’t exist when I was going to school there.  As a result, she practically has her entire college experience paid for in advance.  As a former good student who’s still paying his school loans 15 years later, I’m happy for her…really…no, really…happy for her…I am…

If you’re in the area, look for me, I’ll be the guy in the rental car with empty White Castle boxes and discount clothing.