Tuesday, August 17, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Aug 17)--Having been exposed as a fraud and expense account squatter in Detroit, the company has moved me on to Minneapolis.


I left with mixed feelings, like there was a job not yet done. I didn't leave a trained replacement behind, but it really seemed like they didn't want me to and didn't care. I wonder if the shop was in trouble with a customer and brought a few of us in for the customer to see; sort of a visible response that they were making every effort to make things better.


Well, nevertheless, I left. Friday night, the flight home continued my Friday Night Fights on the airplane. An anticipated thunderstorm delay in Detroit never materialized but storms developed en route over Kansas City and the four-state area. Flying along next to this storm gave us spectacular views of lightening shooting back and forth across the tops of the clouds. The show was amazing, entertaining me until the pilot announced that the Kansas City airport was closed. We would be diverted to St. Louis.


After two hours on the ground there, we were finally cleared to resume the trip to MCI. Again, we flew alongside a magnificent storm (the same one that cost us an on-time arrival) with flashes of light as intense as a nuclear detonation. It was awesome indeed but everyone was dog-tired and few observed the show.


Now here I am in Minnesota. To which I drove, I might add. I need a break from air travel. And it is great to have my own transportation, having not to depend on the whim of others for a ride to work. Or more importantly, a ride back to the hotel.

Access to Minnesota is gained by traversing the Iowa countryside, most of which appears to be on the verge of flooding. Rivers there were high and standing water was everywhere around Des Moines. Further north the traffic thins, the rivers run more clear and it's hard to fathom there are hungry people anywhere with all that corn. The long evening shadows brighten the greens, letting them sparkle against the shadows. Iowa in the summer is not awe-inspiring like the Rockies, but it has a majesty all its own. (Note that Iowa in the winter is a completely different proposition and there are few romantic observations to be made on its behalf.)

Anyway it appears that summer here is about like that in Kansas City, only about 10 degrees cooler. Unfortunately it is just as humid, or more, if that's even possible. So far the dew point and temperature are nearly the same, never more than 9 degrees distant from one another.

The Mall of America is across the street, quite beautifully maintained inside and still a draw. But the local shop I am assigned to is less hospitable than I had hoped, less even than Detroit. And hot. They have the most feeble air conditioning I have ever seen. The docks have no fans. The managers are rather curt. The building is wholly inadequate for the business it is expected to process. Heaven help them if they get a health inspection. I have been working in the dishroom, the very bowels of the enterprise. It is hot and steamy, with stagnent air. Oh, for a couple of floor fans.

Minneapolis itself is as green as Seattle, lush and verdant; a visually satisfying place. It appears to be prosperous but I have seen very little of the city and thus not exposed to competing declarations. We shall see.

I don't know how much more traveling this company expects me to do, but it is beginning to wear a bit. I guess as a lame duck I have the luxury of not having to take much crap. But at the same time, I would like to continue to take their money. Meager as it is, it's all to which I have access at the moment.