I have always enjoyed road trips. I remember going with my family to Michigan, the Outer Banks and Maryland. Little did I know that I was going to drive over 4,000 miles in two months this summer. When I took my job in Akron, I thought that I would be bored in Akron. Instead an opportunity to go somewhere crept up almost every weekend. I am not complaining, it kept me busy and fueled my desire to travel for at least a little while. I did all of the traveling alone, which was also good; it gave me time to think about a variety of things and refine my karaoke skills. Yes that was a joke.

Some trips were short, two hours home to Columbus or an hour to Sandusky, but my Michigan trek was a beefy eight hours. What I did for this post was break down my summer of road trips to an itinerary of every weekend (is it still an itinerary if it was already done? Oh well, that is what I am going with).

Weekend one: Despite it being my first weekend away from home for the summer, my mother gave me a guilt trip into coming home for the weekend. In all fairness it was for my brother’s birthday and Father’s Day. I visited the family, updated them on my job and living in Akron. I also visited old friends that I hadn’t seen in awhile.

Weekend Two: Friday Night I had some friends from High school drive up and I showed them around Akron. We took the time to walk around the campus of Akron University, which proved to be much nicer than I had expected. Saturday morning I drove to Norwalk, Ohio to visit my girlfriend and her family. Later on Saturday I went to Cedar Point’s Soak City for the first time. It was great weekend weather wise; a bit too good, I got my first sunburn.  

Weekend Three: Almost time for Fourth of July! My family had booked a vacation in Northern Michigan many months back and I was hoping that I would be able to squeeze it into my work schedule. Thankfully, I was able to crank through the week and get my projects done so that I could take the following week off and have some vacation time with my family. Friday night, some of the other interns and I hung out. The following morning, I trucked the 500 miles to Michigan .There was some great family bonding, great food, shopping for the women, and plenty of the time spent on the water boating and skiing.

Weekend Four: Halfway through the internship and I haven’t stayed in Akron over the weekend yet. Our rental period for the house in Michigan ran out on Saturday and I finagled a way to extended my vacation another day, not wanting to face the reality of the office quite yet. I drove another hour and half to Gaylord where I met a buddy from school and his family. Again, more time at the lake and great food. Come Sunday, I made the long trek back to Akron. Unfortunately, I did hit a lot of holiday traffic and I got a flat 40 miles west of Akron, not the ideal way to end a vacation but I didn’t mind all that much.

There is a Bobcat somewhere in Northern Michigan…

Weekend Five: Nikki had bought tickets to Toby Keith for my birthday so she came into town and we went to Blossom for an entertaining show of both Toby and his fans (I don’t care if you care for the music or not, country concerts can be some of the most entertaining because of the fans).

Weekend Six: I worked late on Thursday allowing me to skate out of work early and blast to Cinci. A group of us planned to meet for a Rascal Flatts concert. Friday I saw a Reds game as the sun sank behind the city; it was a picture perfect night. The next day, we all met up and geared up for the concert. I had seen Rascal Flatts in concert three times prior but this was the best show I had seen of them yet. Then I drove the four hours back to Akron from Cinci on Sunday night to make work in the morning. I was called crazy, but driving on the interstate with no traffic into the wee hours of the morning was actually relaxing.

Weekend Seven: I headed back to Norwalk for dinner in Sandusky and Cedar point in the morning. A group of us Bobcats got together and headed to the land of the Dragster, Maverick, and Millennium Force. After eleven hours at the park, we decided we had enough, grabbed a pizza on the way home then crashed. Sunday consisted of being lazy by the pool; check sunburn number two.

Weekend eight: I determined another trip home was in order. I took the time to catch up with my family and some friends before they went back to school. I was also craving some home cooking again.

Weekend nine: There was a turning of tables this weekend. I decided last minute that I was going to go support my dad in something he was doing. After several years of him attending swim meets and polo matches, I met him at the halfway point and finish line of Peletonia—a 100 mile bike trip that raises awareness and funding to fight cancer. Then it was 71-N again for my final trek to Akron. I was growing tired of hearing “turn left onto Interstate 71 North and drive 99 miles” from Laura, the computer automated voice of my navigation app.

Dad and Bella at the 50 mile mark

Weekend Ten: I wrapped things up at work, finished projects, said my goodbyes and had an offer in-hand to come back next summer. My Jeep was packed to the brim and I headed south on Friday to come home. I had six days of which I had to fit all of the activities I usually do in a summer.

Akron in the Mirror. 

That meant, I said goodbye to friends before they left for school, went back to a polo practice, did some house projects, went to the dentist, caught up on some work for student orgs, got my car serviced, went to Alum Creek for mountain biking and walked the dog. Summer 2012: it’s been real, see ya! Hello Athens, it’s good to be back. 

I recalled a conversation I had with a friend while at work last summer tonight, for whatever reason. It was one of those talks you hold onto for no apparent reason, and it gnaws at my brain on occasion.

Working at a pool, you have very busy and very slow days. On one of the slow days (we’re talking really slow, there was no one at the pool) I was talking to the friend whom I have known for many years through swimming. She told me she had asked her parents why they invested thousands of dollars into swimming for their kids when none of them had chosen to pursue anything with the sport after high school. I was a bit dumbfounded and thought the answer was obvious.

She told me that her mother had responded by saying they made the investment because the kids had fun and it gave them something to do — keep them out of trouble in the risky, dangerous, white picket fence-lined New Albany, Ohio*.

*Anyone who has been to the bubble that is NA knows everything there (all 4 stores and restaurants) close at ten and the worst crime consists of a teen smashing the “New Albany Green” mailboxes with a bat.

As I said, the answer was obvious to me. The night I decided to write this I was about to turn over and click off the light when I glanced at a picture on my desk.

It was a picture of me and the other swimmers I graduated with. Some of them I have known for ten years now. My friend’s mom took the picture and framed one for each of us. She gave them to us at our senior banquet. It has since been in my room on Sloane Place, my dorm in Athens and now in Akron ever since.

Looking at the picture brings back a waterfall of memories.

I jokingly tell people that I have been around pools my whole life. And that’s because I literally have. My brother was also a swimmer, and he holds four years on me. When I was a toddler, he was taking swimming lessons. Guess where I was? I was on the pool deck with my mother watching as my brother learned how to float on his back and blow bubbles. Funny enough, I taught kids how to do that while I was in high school.

I remember sitting poolside on a specific summer morning — I was maybe four at the time — watching Mitch during his swim lesson and eating a pop-tart while drinking juice from a sippy cup.

That seems to be a bookend memory; my first remembrance of the swimming community. The other bookend is warming down in Canton, Ohio after my Senior Year State meet. It’s a day I will never forget. I had just swum one of the best races of my life with some of the best people in it. I was so high from adrenaline and warmed with the feeling of accomplishment.

I didn’t choose to do anything with swimming thereafter and I can honestly say I’m not sure why. But I have that memory, and dozens more that made the twelve-year career entirely worth it.

I never wanted to go to practice at 5 AM. I didn’t like constantly smelling like chlorine. I didn’t like that my hair felt like a mop or my skin like an alligator. But I am glad I did it. Even though I argued with my parents about quitting multiple times, I still love that I did it. As I mentioned here though, parents are always right.

Like many, the sport is facing headwinds. Mitch swam all four years at the University of Maryland, which has since cut the swimming and diving program because of a lack of funding. Needless to say he is bummed. I am too. Swimming is among the first sports to hit the chopping block when a school is desperate for cash. I understand why: swimming draws little, if any actual cashflow.

My brother told me what really upsets him: “I will never be able to go back to UMD and see people beat my records.”

On the surface, it sounds wonderful to have a record that may never be beaten. I know that snagging a record is something that kept him going. No other person at UMD will be able to look up at the record board and wonder who the heck the guy is with the ridiculously long last name is and how they are going to beat his record.

A couple years back, I spent the summer coaching a summer league team — one that I had been with for seven years. There were around 60 kids age eight to 18. While I was coaching, I found my mood to be as turbulent as a 747 in a hurricane. There were the kids who wouldn’t listen or the parents who would argue with me. But at the same time, you had the kids who were setting personal best times, nailing the flip turn, cracking some of the corniest jokes (of course I stole some) or simply creating the same memories that I already had as a direct result of swimming.

I look back on that now and I have nearly forgotten all the bad and I can absolutely say that I am sure glad I did it. I didn’t choose to do something with swimming after high school, but I know I can carry the sport with me. Even though I am not physically doing the sport on a daily basis anymore, I think about it, or the lessons it taught me on a daily basis.   

Me playing swim coach

Ahh summertime… a time where I’m reminded of playing outside until the sun sinks deep below the horizon and sleeping until ten or eleven in the morning; a time where I can relax and leave my books behind.

I take the opportunity to sleep in whenever I can, which is about three times a month nowadays. In summers past, it would be practically every day. That changed when I went to college and began my internship. I elected to take early classes in college, with the logic I would be done in the afternoon and use that time to get work done, thereby going to sleep early. That couldn’t have been more false.

Instead, I took that free time in the afternoon to do things I enjoyed: reading the paper, going for bike rides, being with friends, going uptown — whatever. Then I would say to myself, “I don’t have that much work, I can do homework for two hours and get to bed early.” Those two hours would easily turn into four or five. I would get work done and then decide to get ahead, or I would do something I enjoy again, like writing or working on a report for another student organization. I will concede there was a fair amount of procrastination.

There were also times where I planned to get work done in my floor’s study lounge, but there were times that just wouldn’t happen. I would “study” in that lounge with friends, often talking about a variety of things; never schoolwork, until two or three in the morning. Those were some of my most memorable moments from my freshman year. Before I knew it, the time was 2 a.m. and I had to trek to class a mere six hours later. Oh well.

Then came the internship. I can probably count the number of people I know in Akron on my fingers, so I don’t do much socializing. Don’t get me wrong; I still have a great group of people here that I hang with.  But at the end of the day, work is exhausting. I go home, work out, make dinner, hammer away on my laptop then turn out the light.

Let me explain that last bit. Again, despite no longer being in Athens, I still find myself saying “I’ll go the bed early tonight.” I never do. I’ll get to writing something or I will be really into the book or article I am reading, or I am on the phone. I love doing all those things so much more than sleeping.

I almost feel like a little kid again; arguing with myself — not my parents — over my bedtime because there are other things I would rather be doing. Only this time it isn’t to stay up and watch Scooby Doo. Scratch that first part; I still am a kid, just with different priorities.

My mom and I were poking fun at my dad while on vacation a couple weeks back. We couldn’t understand why he was setting his alarm for 6:45 a.m. while on vacation. He was up with the sun, fishing in the canoe on the glass-smooth lake, which he had to himself. I was teasing him, but I see why he does as he does. Just as I stay up later than I probably should, he gets up early so he can do the things he enjoys.

There is something deeply relaxing about sitting in my comfy chair with my feet up (good furniture is so underrated until you get to college) and reading or writing something exactly like this while listening to the radio.

So much for my recommended eight hours. Summer time is when college students are supposed to relax and recharge, but I can’t relax for more than ten minutes. I love it.

 Goodyear Clock tower before the big storm yesterday

I work with an older guy, who I would guess is around 68 years old. He sits in the cube next to me and I talk with him on a regular basis about whatever — just shooting the breeze (yes, that is an old saying; my friends call me “gramps” on a regular basis because of my old sayings and general old(ish) actions.)

Recently we were talking about car shopping, which is a topic that, of course, strikes my interest. You see, he’s in the market for a new car. His current ride is a 2001 Cadillac, nearing 200,000 miles. He deemed it was time for new wheels.

After visiting a bunch of dealers, he told me that he hated car shopping, that there were too many options, too many choices; it was hard to keep it all straight. Makes, models, paint, options, trim, interior color and then which dealer. Not to mention the pressure from his wife.

 My mother has always said the same thing. She hates it because she can’t ever make up her mind and hates spending money. I can relate to the latter. I hate spending money. But, much to her chagrin, my father and I view car shopping as a game.

It’s very simplistic; it is a cat and mouse game. When you’re car shopping, you are the cat, the salesman the mouse. For the most part, you have control over his every move. For God’s sake do not let him get the control. It’s your money! My favorite is asking them questions I know they do not have an answer to or catching them in a lie and using it to my advantage — ultimately a lower cost and the rubber floor mats. I have been (not sure if it was jokingly or not) asked to work at a dealership a couple times because of my knowledge on all things wheels. But when I walked away after negotiating my first car deal, and helping my parents do so over the years, I feel like I won a battle. Sorry, my ego came through there.

Back to my colleague’s shopping story.

He has always bought American automobiles. However, for the first time ever he is looking at a Japanese brand. Why? Being from Michigan and a diehard blue oval (Ford) lover, I am a big advocator of the American manufactures. Sure, the things they were making ten years ago were crap. And they knew it. Don’t believe me? Read American Icon. But seriously read it, it details the turnaround of Ford Motor Company and the hiring of their new CEO Alan Mulally. But NOW! Look at what they have to offer. Within six years, Ford was able to reconstruct their company which was facing possible bankruptcy right before the financial collapse and lending freeze of 2008. Their new lineup is full of great cars with reliability rating that are on par with or beat foreign makers.

I often tell friends that time heals everything. I know it sounds corny, and I have a hard time accepting it most of the time, but looking back, it truly does. I just hope it can heal Detroit and the American automakers. We do depend on them. Several parts manufactures are based in Ohio, there is a Chrysler plant in Toledo (passed it just last week!) as well as a Honda / Acura plant in Marysville Ohio, just to name a couple. They are essential to our economy.

Something many people do not think about concerning U.S. automakers is that we are expensive. When I say “we” I mean “Americans.” What caused American manufactures to lose, in terms of quality, was the rising cost of labor. With pressure from the UAW (United Auto Workers Union) and workers, manufactures were required to pay their workers top dollar. Japanese makers could pay their assembly line workers less than half of an American worker. Where did GM, Ford and Chrysler (the Big Three) cut corners? Quality. They sacrificed quality and consumer satisfaction for a buck. It soon caught up with them. They realized it too, which is why they structured a rebound and renegotiated with the UAW. Knowing they had to win back customers, incentives are on the rise and products are top notch. Now we can hear the roar of their engines (yes, that is a reference to the Clint Eastwood Super bowl commercial, it gave me goose bumps the first time I watched it, take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PE5V4Uzobc).

Dashboards were made from (what appeared to be) recycled action figures and the handling felt like an oxcart, and bodies would rust within five years. Take a look now. New Chryslers are outfitted with silky smooth leather, chrome and wood accents. The new Fords are dripping with great technology and stylish bodies and Chevrolet has reached some of their best quality rankings ever. For more on this stuff check out a piece I wrote awhile ago for The Talon, New Albany High School’s online publication here: http://thenatalon.com/node/63.

I recently read an article that a friend posted on Twitter about Detroit and their rebound. It was wonderful to hear that business are slowly coming back to the old ghost town and breathing life into its boarded up buildings. You can read that article here: onforb.es/S7g8eb .

In short, cars are a part of my life. I really want those American manufactures to thrive and be what they once were—the number one and two auto firms in the world. Thing is, they now need our help. 

 

Me and a buddy at the Detroit Auto Show, December 2010. That is a Sabb (a company that is now deceased) 9-5 on the right. 

GM’s headquarters in Detroit. Sorry for the poor quality, it was a drive by (photo) shooting. 

There are many times I wish I could go back to the days where I spent my summers losing track of time, playing outside or vacationing in Northern Michigan with my grandparents and drinking Coca-Cola out of little glass bottles. I’m not going to lie: I had an awesome childhood. There is not a thing I would change.

Change. That is something that scares me. As humans, we are creatures of habit. We get so wrapped up in our daily routines that we don’t even think about it. Ten months ago I had a completely comfortable life in New Albany. I had lived there for 13 years. I had spent my elementary, middle and high school careers there. I developed lifelong friendships. I had a solid summer job where I had worked for four years. However, as the date of Sept. 1 grew closer, I was increasingly anxious. I was anxious to have a new place with new friends and where I would learn new things — a place I would be entirely on my own. I will admit the drive from Columbus to Athens with my parents and all of my possessions was somewhat troubling. While driving on 33 I was remembering all the memories from High School and how I would miss the people I had developed such a close bond with. I was afraid we would drift apart. My life would change from there. I would choose a career path and meet new people.

I’ve moved houses four times in my life, although I only remembering doing so once. Even then, I was too young to know the difference. I was in kindergarten, moving across town. After that, I spent the majority of my life in the “bubble” — as my mom likes to call it — of New Albany. Coming to Athens, I was excited to move to a new town and take a turn in my life. It was exciting until I watched my parents drive away from my dorm room window. Then it hit me. I was not sure when I would see them again. I knew there would be a weekend here and there. But that was the thing — a weekend. I was used to seeing them every night. I reassured myself that I would have the summer and the infamous six week OU winter break. However, come the end of that winter break I was so ready to go back to my new “bubble” in Athens. I had started a new life and was loving every minute.

Little I realized I was just getting started. It took a few weeks, but I formed a solid group of friends. I also reached out and joined some solid student organizations. I also decided who I was as a student needed to change. I was able to float my way through high school and graduate with a very respectable GPA (sorry mom and dad.) I knew that was going to change when I was in college. It’s very different when you know employers look at transcripts and you are paying thousands to get those grades. I realized I would have to put in more effort than I ever did in high school. I put much more time into being a successful student during my freshman year, perhaps a bit too much my first quarter. It seemed like I was lied to about the college experience. I was spending far too much time on school work. I asked one of my good buddies if college was like he thought it was going to be. He said no, “I thought it was going to be a big party.” It was not until late that quarter that I realized I needed to take a couple nights off. Underclassman: don’t get me wrong, college is much harder, put in the time Monday through Friday (or Thursday if you don’t have Friday classes) but make sure to take the time to unwind. I had thought that the way to remove stress was through work, that doesn’t work.

Upon my arrival in Athens, I had changed another thing about me. I had given up swimming. I had swum competitively for about twelve years. My brother also swam, so I had spent my life by the water. At first it felt nice not to have the constant two- or four-hour commitment every day. However, I would soon grow to miss the sport and its competitive nature. I turned to mountain biking as an alternative Spring Quarter. It was just what I needed to relieve the stress. There was something about the rolling hills of Southern Ohio and the mud that was crusted to my face that was extremely stress relieving.

I had banked on this summer as being the time to reunite with the friends that I had neglected during my first year away. That would also change. I had accepted an internship in Akron for the summer, another drastic change that I would have to adjust to. However, I would like to say that it is going well. My work is enjoyable, and the people I work with are too. People had warned me about the rough parts of Akron, but it really isn’t that bad (knock on wood). All in all, this is another change that I am happy with.

I have moved a total of six times in my life now. Two of those six have occurred in the past nine months. The crazy thing about change is that it seems to be constantly accelerating. Whether we like it or not, we are along for the ride. I just have to remember to hold on and enjoy the ride. That seems to be working thus far.

“The name of the game is to advance.” That is something that my High School Swim coach would always say, particularly at the height of the season. I still think about that quote on a daily basis. It is one of the things that keep me going. It got me to state swim meet, and now it’s getting me though life — the carrot on the stick, so to speak — because I know that only through change can I get somewhere in this crazy life.  

My cool dudes at OU. Photo credit goes to a Mister Jim Ryan (not photographed)