Home again

And we're back! I don't remember who it was that used to say that - maybe Johnny Carson - but in any case, I have returned (I do remember who said that, although I wasn't there at the time). This year's Christmas vacation was spent moving my household stuff from Memphis (where it's been in storage for about two and a half years), with a stop at the family farm in Texas. Over the past two weeks, I've been the captain of the biggest rental truck I could get:

The truck's as big as the house!

While driving across the country, I've had plenty of time to contemplate various options for a narrative about the whole thing, but I think the main points will suffice:

• It rained. A lot. Loading day in Memphis had a 80-percent chance of rain when I left LA three days before and a 90-percent chance the day before. And rain it did: the entire day. When I arrived in Texas, where additional loading took place, it rained some more. For a week.
  
• Hiring loaders was some of the best money I've ever spent. That truck went from empty to completely loaded in two hours. I still marvel at how well that went.
• Driving one of these trucks across the country - or even across town, for that matter - will give you a much greater appreciation for the work done by professional truck drivers. It will also give you much more insight into how stupid many car drivers are around big trucks.
  
• You think the truck rental costs a lot, wait til you have to buy the fuel!

After all the rain in Memphis and Houston, I returned to clear skies in the west. I heard that we had rain out here too while I was gone, and the mountains now have snow caps:

Downtown LA, as seen from the tower on a (rare) clear day.

And you know it's a clear day in LA when we can see the Hollywood sign from the tower!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season - Go Saints!