Bowman West

The Things You Learn

I just got back from an eight-day road trip with my parents and Charlie. My parents were warned at the start of the trip that most of it would be fodder for my blog and yet they still agreed to come along. I don't even know were to begin. I'll give it a try though...

1. For some reason Charlie's DVD collection includes a Gumby DVD. I don't recall getting this for him but it's now one of his favorites. Instead of sitting in the parking lot, commonly referred to as I-85, outside of Atlanta we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for relief. Of course they had a Gumby figure in the gift shop (?). This brings me to the point of the story...my dad can't keep from referring to Gumby as "Gumbo." No, he's not making a joke. He really mistakenly calls him Gumbo. "Charlie, do you like Gumbo?" "Charlie, where's Gumbo?" As hard as I try I can't keep from answering with, "Dad, Charlie's never had Gumbo, but if he did I guess he could find it at a Popeye's."

2. Instead of driving nine hours straight from Cville to Atlanta we decided to spend two nights in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN to take in the sites (AKA a million mini-golf and go-cart places). Here are the highlights:

• My mom continually referred to the town as Pigeon Ford.


• While Charlie and I were having fun swimming in the hotel pool he gagged on water and threw up. If you've ever read this blog you know he does this all the time. He also threw up at my sister's house after choking on food and again today in the car after choking on Skittles.


• After throwing up on the edge of the pool I carried him back to the room where I needed to shower him off; however, my mom had just gotten in the shower. We were staying in a handicap accessible room with a large walk-in shower. So there we were, my mom and Charlie naked and me in my swimsuit all together in the shower trying to hose the vomit off. I may need therapy to erase the whole event from my memory.


• My dad could eat steak for every meal. Since he'd been craving red meat I told them we could go anywhere they wanted for dinner so he could have a nice steak. We ended up at their very favorite place -- The Golden Corral. They proclaimed the one in Pigeon Forge to be "not as nice" as the one they go to in Austin. They also didn't like our server as much as their server at the one in Austin who is both attentive and flamboyant. And here I thought that combination only worked at The Gap.

3. I don't remember how this one came up in conversation but somehow I learned that my dad thinks the name of the fish that swims in the Amazon is pronounced PIE-RAN-UH.

4. There's a river-fed lake near my sister's house that is drained in the winter. While driving across the resulting mud puddle I wondered aloud why they drained it. My dad's best explanation was that they probably drain it to keep geese from accumulating on the lake and pooping on all the surrounding houses. Huh. I was thinking it had something to do with water conservation, but who knows. If you've ever seen the size of geese poop then you know he may have a point.

5. As we were saying our prayer tonight here's what Charlie was thankful for: family, singing, going to the barn and picking apples, green apples, red apples, shots, pizza and mac & cheese. I'd say that's a pretty good list. I'm thankful all of that plus my wonderful family, no matter how crazy they are!