Back to the motherland

I spent about nine hours in the car today driving to Fayetteville for a neurologist appointment. Now before you go shouting "Fayett-nam" at me (like I've never heard that before...), I gotta speak a little truth about the place. It's a shi**hole. Now, I can confidently give you this assessment because I was born and raised there. If you are unsure of where I am talking about, look up Ft. Bragg Army Base and you'll see it. I know, I know, sh**hole is a harsh term and maybe even a bit unfair. Fayetteville is absolutely a fabulous destination if you want to a) pawn something, b) buy a used car, or c) go to a strip club. If one of those things is on your must do vacation list, then Fayetteville is a freakin' disneyland with transvestite prostitutes instead of people in animal outfits. Oh yeah, and it get's hotter than hell there in the summer with like a 1000% humidity. Let me also state for the record that I am not in any way, shape, or form a military kid. I am of the rare breed who's family is from Fayetteville. Our part of Scotland must have sucked back in the 1700's when my ancestors came to America, found Fayetteville (then the twin towns of Campbelltown and Cross Creek) and said, "this is it!"

So what could lure me back to the land of my birth? The best neurologist in the world. You may or may not be aware that I have multiple sclerosis, a degenerative nervous system disease. I have had it for 15 years and consider myself very lucky for my current robust health. Dr. Serranno, my neurologist, has been with me for 12 of those years. He is the absolute coolest doctor. He sits down and talks to you like a friend. He sees you, not a chart. And he spends 30 minutes to an hour with you, just talking and telling stories. I actually look forward to my trips to the doctor. He has me on several medicines that aren't specifically for ms, since he approaches ms treatment as an experiment. He is way outside the box and I really dig that about him.

So long car trip, visit my grandmother, show off Owen, get back in car, long car trip and now: home! A quick reminder: one week to Lenoir 'cross! Looks like mother nature will be conspiring to produce some very true cyclocross conditions. And now a little something to help you get in the mood: (set volume to 11!)