Peregrine Deviation: adventures elsewhere: And So It Continues...

Arrived stateside after 28 hours of travel on May 12th. For the record, May 12th was the longest day I've seen - over 34 hours long to be exact. I saw the sunrise and sunset twice each on opposite sides of the globe. Luckily, my readjustment to my new time zone (exactly 12 hours behind southeast Asia) was easy enough. After one day of recovery in Jackson I made my way to Orange Beach, Alabama to watch for the oil slick and celebrate the end of Emily Claire's bachelorettehood. This, of course, was completed with a trip to the famous FloraBama bar on the Florida-Alabama state line. I returned to Jackson for a hot second and then drove to Memphis to spend some QT with Meriwether Wofford, who has also decided to end her bachelorettehood this summer. From there I headed north to the hills of Kentucky to visit Marigny & Jon Bostock for a couple of days. Then it was off to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to pay homage to Groundhog Phil before schlepping up to Boston for some time with those Bowdoin kids who still put up with me. I'll head off to Maine tomorrow, then gradually down to Princeton for Mary Reid's graduation. A few observations/comments about my return to the good ole U.S. of A.:

I have been warned that getting married during football season is just downright rude. If you insist on having a fall wedding your friends will be forced (against their will) to miss a game, which undoubtedly will be a very important one. Your marriage will be cursed by the upset souls who forego their cowbell and Crimson on your behalf.
After spending 2 months of constantly unsucessful hyrdation attempts, I am now cursed with what seems like an insufficiently sized bladder. I haven't shaken the constant water intake but I am no longer sweating 24 hours a day. Here's the equation: Hydration - Asia + roadtrip = A slower trip than originally planned.
No matter where you are, you can always find a country station and someone talking about Jesus. NPR is only available near cities that a 2nd grader has heard of and New England.
Everybody seems to claim Abraham Lincoln as their native son. Sure, you knew Illinois was "The Land of Lincoln" but Kentucky is mighty proud he was born there and Indiana lets you know as soon as you cross the Ohio River that it is "Lincoln's boyhood home." Gee, he's a mighty popular guy.
You know that Asian traffic is bad when you return to Boston and think that traffic is smooth sailing. This is the city I used to HATE driving in because of all those Massholes and the roads that were planned by cows meandering to market. Not any more. It seems calm and even friendly. If anyone is sick and tired of Boston traffic, just take a trip to Vietnam and it will cure you of your animosity. Guaranteed.