I never thought that this is where I’d settle down
I thought I’d die an old man back in my hometown
They gave me this plot of land
Me and some other men, for a job well done
There’s a big White House sits on a hill just up the road
The man inside, he cried the day they brought me home
They folded up a flag and told my Mom and Dad
“We’re proud of your son”
And I’m proud to be on this peaceful piece of property
I’m on sacred ground and I’m in the best of company
I’m thankful for those thankful for the things I’ve done
I can rest in peace
I’m one of the chosen ones
I made it to Arlington
– Trace Adkins
Monday 27 May 2024
It’s Memorial Day here, the American equivalent of ANZAC Day, where they honour those who have fallen in war. This holiday also marks the unofficial start of summer. This Monday is always bittersweet because we are saying goodbye, usually for a year, but not this time – off to Detroit for IndyCar’s street race there next weekend. That softens the blow a bit. Still, I have full-on post-Indy 500 depression and I am pretty sure I’m not alone in that amongst the 350,000+ who attended the race yesterday.
Not nearly enough sleep – a theme on race week in Indianapolis, I think.
Up before 8:00am, packed my suitcase and tidied up the Airbnb. Headed to breakfast with Ryan, Audrey and some others. Another chance to unpack the race and to laugh. I ordered a Spanish omelette and thanks to language barrier issues and an inexperienced waiter, actually got a spinach omelette. So that was interesting. For the record, the spinach omelette was nice.
Got a text from April, one of the girls at the race with us: her train back to Chicago was delayed indefinitely so she came with us instead. We also had another passenger, Ryan’s pit spotter, John. Both great people, and the trip – highlighted by a stop at Outback Steakhouse, which hasn’t gotten any less cringey since my last visit there in 2019 – was nothing if not entertaining.
Elias stayed in the Airbnb a few more hours, then headed to the airport for his flight back to Washington D.C. – it was sad to say goodbye to him, especially after the epic week. Hopefully it won’t be too long before our paths cross again.
An uneventful journey of about 3 hours, aside from a little traffic coming into Chicago. We dropped April off at her house near the Ukrainian Village neighbourhood of downtown then headed up to Northbrook to drop off John.
Then it was back to Wheaton for dinner with Mike, Jane and their kids – and it was especially wonderful to see Frank and Ivana.
Mercifully, an early night. I’ll definitely sleep well tonight!
kitchtrips 