Mary and the kids needed to take some extra time for school today, so I dropped them off at the Cleveland Public Library. I then excitedly drove down the street to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I've always want to visit this place and was thrilled to have the opportunity.
The architecture of the building was very cool with a wide open atrium and six levels of exhibits. I only had a couple hours, but managed to see most of it. The museum was full of instruments, apparal and notes; played, worn and written by the greats of Rock n' Roll, R&B, pop, the blues and gospel music. I was fascinated by the sheer number of classic songs that had been scrawled out on hotel stationary. I had to laugh at one musician's sports bag full of hotel keys that he had gathered on the road. And I thoroughly enjoyed the many multimedia clips that would recount an era in five minutes or less. Somehow, standing in front of the blue jeans worn by Springsteen and the round glasses worn by John Lennon helped me connect with their humanity a bit more. While I don't agree with the message, philosophy or lifestyle of many popular musicians, I can sympathize with their desire to create something that will move people's hearts and that will endure for generations to come. It was a great afternoon.
I picked up Mary and the kids at the library and we headed for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Mary joked that few people would want a shirt from Hard Rock Cafe - Cleveland. After lunch, we were bound for Niagara Falls. Along the way, I had heard a peculiar noise emanating from the minivan. Mary concurred that she heard it too, but it seemed to stop after a bit. After a couple hours, we had passed Erie, PA, and a gentlemen in the right lane drove by us holding a sign to his window. It said, "Rear Tire Low!" We waved to thank him and I immediately pulled off at the exit that presented itself. Two miles down the road I found the only service station in sight. As it would happen, it was a FULL SERVICE station, which a gentlemen furiously pumping gas for the never-ending stream of customers. We patiently waited and he examined the tire, determining that he needed to remove it to plug the hold. And fix it he did.
I call this a "God" thing. That tire was VERY low. We could easily have had some serious problems. The man with the note; the service station; the availability of someone to patch the tire even past 5 pm. I look at it as God looking out for His kids. And I am very thankful!
We got back on the road with our "good as new" tire and continued toward Canada. The man at the service station said we might be stuck at the border for over and hour, and that they would probably want to search the vehicle since it was loaded and because we had come so far. As it turned out, the Canadian border exchange went like this.
Citizenship? U.S.
From where? Oklahoma
Ok. Goodbye.
That simple.
So we entered Canada and drove 20 miles (30 kilometers, as we learned) to find our Best Western at Fallsview. Since we are staying three nights, we grabbed most of our things from the van. We PACKED the elevator before going to our room! It is a very nice room, too. We haven't seen the falls yet, but they are only five minutes away walking distance, so we will definitely see them tomorrow.
On another note, I got a call from my Stepfather tonight. My sister, Jamie, has just had her second child, so I am an uncle... AGAIN! Welcome to our world, David William Malitz!
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
October 10, 2003 10:50 PM
I was supposed to email you the news. Yin Yang day. Jamie's baby comes in, Laureen (our friend) mother leaves.
michael
October 11, 2003 02:54 PM
hey guys...looks/sounds like you guys are having a great time and doing well. We missed you last night at the "breaking of the fast" party...it was awesome!
Take care and enjoy....
Brent