A lot of things seem to have happened just recently – In early November I took a flight to Columbus to visit the Kenney’s for a couple of nights. We drank some Burning River Pale Ale and some Edmund Fitzgerald Porter – just the thing for cool Ohio in November. The kids had all grown up a lot, and there was a couple of new ones in Carys and Ian. Dave’s brother Dan came over with his little tackers and the place became kid-central. I’d bought Browns tickets on Ebay previously, so we took off on a customary road trip to Cleveland and grabbed a sick Mike Snyder from Akron on the way. The stadium environment was very electric and despite the high ticket prices and the poor showing by the team, it was a great experience for me. The middle-aged lady beside me wore a “Dubya” badge and was very happy I was Australian because “you supported us in the war against terrorism”. To which I replied “yeah, the goverment sure did”. She threw spent peanut shells good naturedly at a showboating Steeler fan a couple of rows down (as did the whole group of people around me) and at one point in a fit of rage called him a “Blue Stater”, referring to the Kerry victory in Pennsylvania the previous week. People were openly cursing the Browns coach Butch Davis (who resigned today by co-incidence) and a guy made jokes about ex-Steeler quarterback Kordell Stewart in the toilets “Was the Kordell’s finger I just felt up my ass?”. Afterwards we trudged back to Akron for some lasagne cooked by Mike’s wife Maree and after dinner played Monopoly with Olivia and Neil before they went to bed – I came last by the way! I got to crash in Neil’s bed whilst he got to camp inside a tent in Olivia’s room – it was pretty cold outside, and the emergency services people were attending to a leaky oil well a quarter mile away. Mike got me to Hopkins airport in Cleveland at 5am for my Houston flight on American. I was reminded I was in middle America when sitting in a Chili’s restaurant at Chicago’s O’Hare reading the Cleveland Plain Dealer and listening to Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart” – I used to like that song in the early 80’s but boy it sounds old now. I got through the last week in Houston ok, but struggled to get all my bags and bike to George Bush international due to some lousy airport facilities/setup. The crowds were big because it the Friday before Thanksgiving and I could barely get into a lift with my trolley before a guy saw my exasperation and made everyone stand back for me to board first. The flights were a breeze and I enjoyed the sight of all the gum trees alongside the runway at Tullamarine. I’d had a great sleep on the plane so I drove home from the airport like a pro – ok, maybe once did Kim’s side go into the gutter because I was used to driving in the other part of the lane. But I was good. The dogs were excited as always and the house looked crisp and attractive as did my much missed partner!