KC Jones (Please don't try and correct me, I know what I'm doing here)

So this week traveling has been cursed for me.

Prologue: My calf started to hurt a little, felt like an issue with tendons, but I wasn't sure, hoped it would go away.

1. Car breaks down.

2. Fixed up my bike, but when breaking it down to be moved with the car when I got it towed home, it gets further jacked up, and time is lost readjusting the brakes and wheel alignment.

3. Repair car after a couple of attempts but sprain my Achilles at work the following morning right off the bat and have to file a workman's comp claim.

4. I plan a trip Kansas City to see Ben Kenney and visit friends, initially planning on driving before my car problems.  Not trusting my car, and looking to keep costs down in case I have to get some major work done on it (my plates are up this month and I need to get it inspected) I choose public transportation. Greyhound and Megabus jack their prices sky high, so I book Amtrak roundtrip to KC, relying on Lisa to come rock out with me and drive us from KC to Lawrence and back cause that's where the show is.

5. I plan to leave my car and catch the Metro Bus, to the Metro Train which puts you right off at Amtrak, but I realize this morning at 5am I don't have enough ones and the bus takes exact amounts only.  I go to walgreens and double back home, realizing I am not going to be able to walk to the bus stop in time.

6. I figure I will try leaving my car at Airport parking and catch the train from there, but I didn't know if they allow that with security, so in a pinch I called my Uncle Colin who picks me up after getting a little turned around, and as we pull into the north hanley metro link station the train is pulling off.  I figure I will just drive to amtrak ASAP and leave my car there.

7. On the ride home I look at my ticket and realize departure is at 9:15 and I thought it was at 9am the next metro train would have gave me 15 minutes to get on the Amtrak, so I might have made it. Too late now.

8. I get home, get in my car and hit the highway only to find 170 south shifted from 4 lanes to 1 lane at St. Charles Rock Road.  I exit and make a U-turn when I see the jam is only at the overpass and get back on the highway on the other side of the ramp and dodge that bullet after losing a few minutes.

9. I get on 64/40 East and the exit to the Amtrak Station is closed so I have to get off on Grand.  I get a little turned around so I turn on the GPS, and it gives me ok directions to get back on 64E but it tells me to make a left on 14th while on the highway, instead of taking the exit and then making a left, so I get confused and end up taking the last Missouri ext, then Choteau to Tucker, Tucker to Clark??? I forget, but I get close to the Amtrak station but the roads are blocked because The Race For the Cure is today.  I have to wait on that.

10. I get there and look for the long term parking but only see short term and some kind of kiosk. I say screw it, lock and alarm my car and go into the station. I ask an older man if they called for the KC train and he says he didn't hear it.  I go to the ticketing counter and the station agent says it's getting ready to pull off now.  I walk, then run to the hall that leads to the escalators that lead to the catwalk, that leads to the trains about 100 years away, but is actually 400 yard away because of that erector set style path they make you go through.  Before I can get through the partition they have for the lines, I see the train starting to pull forward. I missed it too.

11. My ankle started throbbing, my knee was feeling weird.

Epilogue: The ride home was entirely unencumbered, a couple of red lights, but absolutely not traffic.  Maybe it's better that I be in town to spend Father's day with my dad, and visit with the family of the closest I had to a brother coming up as a child.  Ben Kenney just needs to bring his bad self to St. Louis on tour dagnabit!

PS

Casey Jones is the only Dead song I every really took to right off the bat, and still think it's their best.  The fact that it's based on something that happened just across the river from here plays into the whole pathetic affair that was me getting around this week like a stroke of cosmic karmic genius.