Catching Up ... Again

CINCINNATI -- Flew into Louisville Friday, hung out at my old station all afternoon, then drove my rented white PT Cruiser -- no, I did not request such an absurd vehicle -- up to Cincinnati.

Was going to kick it at Tom's crib, but pregnant wife Margie -- his, not mine -- has been a little under the weather lately, so I rented a room at what was once a decent downtown Cincinnati hotel, but it's now fairly ghetto.

Tried to force in a short nap but the cell wouldn't stop ringing, so I ended up at Teller's in Hyde Park. Earlier in the week, I'd sent out a note to old friends in both Cincinnati and Louisville, hoping to see as many as possible on my Midwest Mini Tour. The first person I saw after I walked into Teller's was old girlfriend Heather. Remember her? Hadn't seen in her several years. Was good to catch up with her, as well as with old dude Charles Sutton, who came out long enough to buy me a drink but kept his visit brief in order to meet up with far more important people.

Drees, pregnant wife Amy and D-Tizzle were out, but I felt bad for not conversing with them much. Then I didn't feel so bad after Drees e-mailed me a doctored up jpeg of me and my outstanding new scarf. If there's one thing you still don't do in Cincinnati, it's try to be bold with accessories or really make any style statement.

I also had the privelege of finally meeting the darling Kari Wethington, the splendid Cincinnati writer. Despite being with who I presume was her boyfriend, she couldn't stop staring at me. That was a weak stab at humor.

One stranger I did meet was Anna, a lovely Californian now in Cincinnati for grad school at UC's prestigious design program.

I didn't talk to Buroker, Loon or Slazyk much because the time normally spent catching up was instead full of scarf commentary.

I ended up spending most of my time talking to Mindy, the twin sister of that Survivor chick from last year. She just got back from Florida after being stalked by a former co-worker or something. I'm glad I'm not an attractive young lady. There are some f*d up guys out there.

LOUISVILLE -- Saturday I returned to Louisville and took a lovely nap on Patrick's couch as the Colts were putting the finishing touches on their AFC playoff game with the Ravens.

Grabbed a bite at Brendan's with Patrick and Maureen, then rolled down to Felt, which just might be the last time I step foot in that place. It sucks.

But a good crowd came out to say hello, and despite the rest of the crowd and the awful music, I had a good time.

Flying back on Monday looked like it was going to be yet another hassle. My Northwest connection was going to take me from Louisville to Detroit, but icy conditions in Detroit canceled our outbound flight. So I was going to be delayed and perhaps re-routed, and my LaGuardia arrival of 3 p.m. was going to be more like 7 p.m., which would mean I'd have to cancel my date with national anchor girl. I lucked out; Northwest actually put me on a USAirways direct flight that got me into LaGuardia at 2 p.m., so not only did I make my date, but was able to procrastinate an extra hour. A win-win situation all the way around.