Ignorant Historian

I hope that you’re having a great Christmas season, one in which you’re focusing on the true reason for this hope- and gift-filled time.

This year, I’ve chosen to fly to Kansas on Christmas morning. This Christmas will be a little different for my family as we’re all on baby watch! For those who have been asking, still no word yet on when my niece, Bean, will make her appearance, but I think it’ll be any day. She’s “due” on Monday, but you know how that goes.

Since I’ll be spending some extended time in Kansas, I won’t be regularly posting here until the new year. I’ll be sure to post once Bean has arrived, as well as let you know when my “baby” arrives and is available…should be Monday. These are exciting days!

It’s that time of year that Ronnica flies back to Kansas.  I suppose it’s appropriate to fly to the town of my origin at this time of year since that’s what Joseph and Mary did.  Well, they went to their family’s origin and they were traveling considerably slower. And, of course, this is not a census, since that was already handled earlier this year.  But yeah, basically the same.

This is my 6th Christmas flying to Kansas, and 2 of the previous 5 times I’ve gotten stuck, in Atlanta and then in Chicago.  Last year’s trip was uneventful, and that’s what I’m expecting this time.  I have pretty good odds, too, as there’s not an ounce of precipitation in the forecasts for Raleigh, Atlanta (my layover), or Wichita.

I’ll “see” you guys on the other side, after I get back to North Carolina on Monday!

1.  If you were on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, whose names would you submit as your three lifelines, and what subjects would each person be your go-to person for?

Let’s see…I’d definitely put my dad on the list for all things mathematical/scientific.  I’d also choose my college roommate, Dana, as she’s familiar with a ton of movies (and a ton of other things…she’s well-read as well) that I’m not.  I’d also want to pick someone who’s good with pop culture, but I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head that would be a good fit.

2.  What food grosses you out just by its texture?

Grits.  Definitely don’t get them.

3.  How long would it take you, via the quickest means available, to get to the place of your birth from where you are right now?

If someone chartered me a flight and had it waiting for me at the airport right now, I think I could be there in 3 hours.  I think it’d take just over 2 hours to fly direct to Wichita (not that I’ll ever know that!).  Driving it takes 20 hours.

4.  From what store is it impossible for you to emerge empty-handed?

Target, for sure.  There is always something that I “need.”

5. What do you usually use to mark your place in a book?

A piece of paper from a notepad.  It doubles as a place for me to record quotes.

Yesterday I left work early and hopped on a plane.  Of course it was planned (who do you think I am?  I plan EVERYTHING), but it’s still nice to get away.

So where I am?

Nowhere exciting (at least not to you all).  I’m in the land of the sunflower, wheat, tornadoes, good highways (at least that’s what everyone who drives through it says), and Ronnica.

What, you didn’t know that Kansas was famous for producing me?

I’m visiting family for a long weekend.  I even get to go visit the bro and SIL at their new home.

I’m looking forward to a feet-up, fun, family-filled weekend!

Murder is no way to show that abortion is murder.  This is not the type of news I like to hear out of my home city.  Shame on he who did this:

Abortion Provider George Tiller is Shot Dead at Church

Today the NCAA basketball tournament begins!  I think it’s kinda like the holidays for sports…even those who don’t observe their fanhood during the rest of the year still decorate (themselves) with their team’s gear and show up to watch the game (if only on TV).

As always, I’m rooting for the Kansas Jayhawks (remember, I’m from there) and some for the Oklahoma Sooners (as they’re my alma mater).  I also root a little for North Carolina, but if they completely fall apart in their game today, I’ll laugh.  Though I picked them to win the tournament, so I might not laugh that hard.  But I’m in good company…Obama picked them to win, too.

I definitely picked fewer upsets than I have in years past, mainly because I didn’t have the time to research the teams like I have previously.  My Final 4 consists of KU, Pitt, UNC, and UConn.  If you did a bracket, who did you pick?

I’m back.  After time in Chicago, IL, Wichita, KS, and Denison, TX, I’m back in good ole Raleigh, NC.  I love to travel, but really enjoy coming home, too.  Now if everything would just unpack itself…

The return trip was rather uneventful.  Neither of my flights were particularly full.  In fact, I had no one sitting next to me either way.  I have a knack for sitting next to no one, even on a almost-full flight, but it has been a while since I’ve been on a flight that was less than full.  As I was waiting to leave Wichita, I realized that it was incredibly quiet in the terminal, even though there were other people around.  Even the gate agents were whispering to each other.  It was so much different in Chicago!

I could go into the details about everything that I did over the last 10 days, but I don’t want to bore you.  My time at my parents’ primarily consisted of putting together puzzles, sleeping, eating, and watching movies.  My time in Texas consisted of playing with a little girl and getting some good time talking with Dana.  I sure do miss living with her, even though we haven’t in over 3 years.  We would regularly stay up until 2 in the morning talking in our beds.  As much as I did enjoy that time, I don’t think I would ever want to go back to a dorm setting.  I enjoy the quiet of my own bedroom with only one other person in the apartment!

If I continued this post, it would just get rambly.  Actually, it’s already gotten rambly, so I’m going to end it here.  Don’t forget to enter the $50 Target gift card giveaway if you haven’t done so already!

Things are so crazy right now that I don’t quite have time for a regular post. But I did want to share with you something funny that I saw in the Wichita airport as I was leaving.

Some dude had a big box, and I didn’t know what it was. The gate agent went up to him and told him that his hat box wouldn’t fit with him on the plane.

It was a box for his cowboy hat that he was carrying with him on the plane (his hat was on his head). I know I’m from Kansas, but I’m not used to seeing people with cowboy hats. I lived in a fairly urban area, and didn’t really see people who regularly wore cowboy hats until I moved to Oklahoma.

Does anybody know why a cowboy hat box is so big? It looked like it was big enough to almost fit two hats inside.

What was the strangest site you’ve seen at the airport? (that really wasn’t mine, though)