I don’t buy T-shirts with messages anymore. If I did, I might start a collection of the ones I find around here that make absolutely no (or little) sense. I’ve shared two below that I spotted while out shopping recently. Now for the story about the one above.
Picture it. Christmas 1984. We flew from Washington, D.C. to Minneapolis when a blizzard began. I commented to SG that I couldn’t believe the airport was still functioning. In Washington D.C., everything would have been grounded. We waited for our 15-seat plane (or 12-seat, depending on how much luggage there was), which would stop in Sioux Falls before taking us to our final destination in Pierre and SG’s sister Linda’s home. Just then, an announcement was made by someone at the Mesaba Aviation counter who appeared to be about 14 years old. And I quote: “Due to the blizzard, we can’t make it to the final destination in Pierre. But we think we can make it to Sioux Falls. Our recommendation is that you get as far west as you can.” Very reassuring.
San Geraldo had a minor nervous breakdown, but he got on the plane. Single seats running down either side of a narrow aisle. We couldn’t stand up. We couldn’t fit our knees behind the seats in front of us, so we sat sideways. The heat stopped working mid-flight and the “navigator,” who looked to be about 16, passed blankets back to us from her seat. We sat in our parkas. San Geraldo surreptitiously popped open and chugged, hidden behind his hood, the split of champagne he had been carrying in his bag. The smell wafted through the tiny cabin and we could hear all the other passengers commenting that they could smell alcohol (and they all wanted some). I had a great time scrunched in my seat listening to “Aint’t Misbehavin’” on my Sony Walkman.
We did in fact make it to Sioux Falls where we were stranded at a dismal Howard Johnson’s for a day and a half. Pierre was about 3-1/2 hours directly west by car. We finally were put on a bus that first headed north/northwest, because the snow drifts were too high on the east-west interstate. We then headed south/southwest to Pierre. The trip took about 9 hours. After bitter cold (a wind chill of –67˚C / –82˚F in Sioux Falls), we finally had a heatwave 5 days later when we flew home. It was a springlike –20˚C / –5F. We didn’t even need jackets for our trip to the airport.
Anyway, of the three T-shirts pictured today, the one at top that Linda sent me from Pierre after that trip, is the only one that is completely factual (38 years later and it still fits — and it’s still in one piece). I’m not complaining that all I got was the t-shirt. I could have come home with frostbite.
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Ya no compro camisetas con mensajes. Si lo hiciera, podría comenzar una colección de los que encuentro por aquí que no tienen ningún (o poco) sentido. He compartido dos a continuación que vi mientras salía de compras recientemente. Ahora, la historia sobre la de arriba.
Imagínalo. Navidad de 1984. Volamos desde Washington, D.C. a Minneapolis cuando comenzó una tormenta de nieve. Le comenté a SG que no podía creer que el aeropuerto siguiera funcionando. En Washington D.C., todo habría estado castigado. Esperamos nuestro avión de 15 asientos (o 12 asientos, dependiendo de la cantidad de equipaje que hubiera), que se detendría en Sioux Falls antes de llevarnos a nuestro destino final en la casa de Pierre y la hermana de SG, Linda. En ese momento, alguien hizo un anuncio en el mostrador de Aviación de Mesaba que parecía tener unos 14 años. Y cito: “Debido a la ventisca, no podemos llegar al destino final en Pierre. Pero creemos que podemos llegar a Sioux Falls. Nuestra recomendación es que vayas lo más al oeste que puedas”. Muy tranquilizador.
San Geraldo tuvo un pequeño ataque de nervios, pero subió al avión. Asientos individuales a ambos lados de un pasillo estrecho. No podíamos ponernos de pie. No cabíamos nuestras rodillas detrás de los asientos frente a nosotros, así que nos sentamos de lado. La calefacción dejó de funcionar en pleno vuelo y la “navegante”, que parecía tener unos 16 años, nos pasó las mantas desde su asiento. Nos sentamos en nuestras parkas. San Geraldo abrió subrepticiamente y tragó, escondido detrás de su capucha, la copa de champán que había estado cargando en su bolso. El olor flotaba a través de la diminuta cabina y podíamos escuchar a todos los demás pasajeros comentar que podían oler el alcohol (y todos querían un poco). Me lo pasé muy bien apretujado en mi asiento escuchando “Aint’t Misbehavin'” en mi Sony Walkman.
De hecho, llegamos a Sioux Falls, donde nos quedamos varados en un lúgubre Howard Johnson’s durante un día y medio. Pierre estaba a unas 3-1/2 horas directamente al oeste en automóvil. Finalmente nos subieron a un autobús que se dirigía primero hacia el norte/noroeste, porque los montones de nieve eran demasiado altos en la interestatal este-oeste. Luego nos dirigimos al sur/suroeste a Pierre. El viaje tomó alrededor de 9 horas. Después de un frío intenso (una sensación térmica de –67˚C / –82˚F en Sioux Falls), finalmente tuvimos una ola de calor 5 días después cuando volamos a casa. Era un –20˚C / –5F primaveral. Ni siquiera necesitábamos chaquetas para nuestro viaje al aeropuerto.
De todos modos, de las tres camisetas que se muestran hoy, la de arriba que Linda me envió de Pierre después de ese viaje es la única que es completamente real (38 años después y todavía me queda, y todavía está de una sola pieza).
• Un poco de confusión en esta camiseta de San Francisco. Algunos números y letras que no parecen pertenecer. “Me siento ENAMORADO en PALM BEACH.” Eso es en Florida, no en California. Y me pregunto si se supone que debe decir “ME ENAMORE”. De todos modos, simplemente “viaja a lo largo del amor y la libertad”.
• Varsity College debe ser una escuela privada de élite. Nunca antes lo había escuchado.
• Los gatos tratando de imaginar una sensación térmica de –82 ˚F/–67 ˚C mientras observan los pájaros.
Xmas travel was never on our itinerary except for Bermuda 2 hours south of Halifax one stop and heaven ~ sorry I had to share this. Of course, there were snow events with white knuckled driving which comes with the territory in our world not to dissimilar from your Pierre adventure. I do enjoy your San Fran T-shirt so arty. The juxtaposition of the kitties minimalistic style just adds the yin to yang of life.
Ron:
We had a couple of winter trips to Puerto Rico, and one to Key West — in search of sun and sea. Now, we’re running away to Norway to escape all the people here for sun and sea.
Never been to a Dakota…hope to never go to a Dakota.
Frank:
SG was the first person I ever met from a Dakota. I had New Englander friends who said no one actually lived in “the Dakotas.” They were just place holders on the map.
I had one of those rides from MSP to North Dakota one summer, in what may have been the same plane, the 90 minute flight took four hours as we flew around the thunderstorms – must have been a different flight crew – they were still hiring teenagers.
David Godfrey:
I read Mesaba Aviation no longer exists. Maybe not such a bad thing.
The boys are standing guard.
I had a story about a tiny plane and a rough flight but it was nothing like yours, though I am suffering PTSD from your tale. The whole “can’t stand up” thing freaks me out.
Bob:
Were it not for the blizzard, I would have completely enjoyed that flight. I did think we were going to die.
That was a pretty brutal baptism by blizzard for you, Mitchell! Welcome to the prairies in winter, LOL! I was storm-stayed once by a Christmas blizzard in North Battleford, Saskatchewan about 30 years ago, driving across the prairies from Winnipeg to Edmonton where my sister lived at the time. I feel your pain.
Debra:
After that trip, SG told his family we would never again come to South Dakota in winter. His grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother all died in winter. His grandmother on a day 11 inches of snow had fallen. His father during a blizzard that legally closed every single road in the entire state. We were of course there for all. They showed us.
Ohhhhhh, you had me laughing out loud… still chuckling as I type.
Judy C:
Hope the chuckling doesn’t hurt and that you’re alread feeling much better!
Okay, you guys are officially nuts! It’s about 7:30 a.m. here, and after reading this I need a stiff drink (with an umbrella, of course)!
Deedles:
SG vowed never to return to South Dakota in winter. So, his grandparents and parents made a point of all dying in winter (thankfully, not all at once). I think they were all laughing at us.
I’m so impressed you still have that shirt, and it looks like it’s still in pretty good shape! I don’t think any of my t-shirts have lasted that long, though I do have a sweatshirt that I bought in 1995.
Steve:
The T-shirt is of that kind of cotton I love. It gets softer with age. I have another T-shirt his sister bought me in 1989. Not worn as often and looks almost new.
I can so identify with that Midwest ‘winter’ travel situation. One of mine more memorable trips involved driving from DC to Western Minnesota–also in 1984. Alone with my four children–all under the age of ten–the baby only nine months old. It was mid-April, not December, but if you know the Midwest you know that means nothing when it comes to weather. After a night in Ohio–where it was 70 degrees at 7 am–you’d think, “What could go wrong?” Well, by the time we reached South Bend, IN, I was hearing tornado warnings on the car radio (me asking myself, what the hell county are we in??? as they kept announcing impacted counties–no cell phones back then). Stopped for lunch as storm passed and on returning to the car discovered my oldest had accidentally left the door key in the locked car. Caprice station wagons had two different keys, one for the door, one to start the car–he was in the third seat an needed the key to access the locked storage compartment for his toys–hence, he had the door key. Police were called and jimmied my door open for me. This after two guys offered to “help” me, but when I told them the cops were coming, they ran like hell. So, off the tribe and I went, headed towards Chicago. By this time, the weather front had gone through, the temps were steadily dropping and, of course, it started snowing–heavily–slowing our progress. As darkness set in, I stopped at a highway oasis to again feed the kids (and change the two in diapers–don’t even ask), promptly dropping my keys in the snow as I exited the car and scrambling to find them in five inches of snow. Finally, back on the road again, we made it through Chicago area god-awful traffic (a nightmare of constant highway construction) in heavy snow. The six year old boy had to pee in a coffee mug–subsequently thrown away–because I couldn’t bear to stop. Headed up to Wisconsin because I was determined (e.g. nuts) to keep going. By the time we got to Madison, at near midnight, there was 13″ of snow on the ground and the only reason I had made it that far was because I followed a slow snow plow for a very long time. Finally gave up and pulled into a motel for the night. The kicker? The next morning as I drove west, I discovered if I’d only driven another 50 miles, there wasn’t any snow. None. Just another six hours of driving. A memorable trip, to say the least. My children survived it–they were real troopers. In fact, the ‘baby’ turned 39 this week. Good times!
Safe travels! May you see no snow, except perhaps on the top of distant mountains!
Mary:
Well, that was the drive from hell… or THROUGH hell. Do the older kids remember that trip?
Oh, yes. They remember it well–comes up whenever road trips are mentioned (we have a catalog of them from their childhood–almost all with crazy incidents).
Funnily enough, after that coffee mug incident–and while I was in a gift store on that same trip–I found a coffee mug with the words, “Not for Specimen Use.” No one could in the store could understand why I was bent over in hysterical laughter. Of course, I bought the mug.
What a great story to go along with that t-shirt!! Priceless!
Here’s to experiencing/making more stories in Norway.
Jim:
We’ll never forget THAT trip. The bus ride was like summer camp. SG and I bought sandwiches and champagne for the ride. We sang (SG led) camp songs and at ever drop-off, we all sang “We wish you a merry Christmas.”
You are so, so, so much better off in Spain! Never a snowdrift to be seen in Andalusia… Jx
Jon:
Well, as long as we avoid the mountains. Just like San Diego. Our kind of climate. In summer South Dakota is another story. 35˚C, 90% humidity, gale-force winds — a warm-up for tornado season. Paradise.
My most hair-raising winter drive was at a High Arctic Weather Station on northern Ellesmere Island. My job one afternoon was to accompany a rookie electronic technician out to a satellite station about 5 miles away. I drove the WWII era Bombadier on an overland trail and waited while he knocked snow off the satellite dish. For those unfamiliar with this mode of transportation, a Bombadier is basically a tank with huge track rear wheels and two large front skis in lieu of wheels, and three gears: low, high and reverse. The tech was taking his sweet time checking equipment in the shack when it started to snow and the sun went down. I informed him that we should either hunker down in the shack for the night and eat K-rations or hightail it out of there right quick. He wanted to go back to the station, so I drove back via the frozen fijord in hopes of beating the storm, but it closed in on us about halfway and that was the moment the tech decided to panic and start screaming. I had to yell at him to shut up. As he cowered in the passenger seat, I cranked the steering wheel and turned left until I felt the left front ski hit the steep side of the fijord. Just at that moment, I looked over my left shoulder and saw the blizzard had cleared right over the weather station. I pushed the gas pedal to the floor of that old crate and we climbed up the bank and into the lit compound just as the weather closed in! I was never so relieved to see that station as I was that night! The technician quit the next day and flew back to Resolute Bay on the mail plane. And it wasn’t even Christmas, LOL!
Tundra Bunny:
Glad you didn’t end up slapping the tech. I’m sure it was tempting. You must have a lot of fascinating stories from that time.
I thought it said “lordy and freedom.” Thanks for the translation. Your pale, Walt form Varcity Collage.
Walt the Fourth:
I first read “lordy,” too. Did you gardiate from Varcity?
Yes. Magna Cum Loudly.
a trip experience like that would turn me off to traveling forever . im just not built for such situations.
Sassybear:
We’ve survived (and ended up enjoying) most of experiences by saying, “Oh, this will give us good stories.” It’s even how we survived many times spent with my mother.