Confiscated Pimiento Cheese

On March 19th at 3am, I began my birthday trip to Little Rock. My neighbor Clare drove me to the airport at 3:30am. We arrived at 4am. At 4:05am, I had cleared TSA and was at the gate. I was flying American Airlines for the first time in a decade. The flight left Minneapolis at 5:15am with a 3-hour layover in Chicago before continuing on to Little Rock. I walked about a mile between gates as screens in the terminal were displaying confusing gate information. All went well on the flights, though my knees were crammed in my mouth most of the second leg to Little Rock ... tiny plane, low ceilings, no overhead space. Steve Mitchell (friend of 42 years) was at the airport to meet me. In the evening, Steve, his partner Nathan and I attended a dance concert. The group was out of Memphis, Tennessee.

March 21st: I was a bit lazy that morning. I'd been awake for a couple of hours, laying in bed listening to rain strike the windows in the guest room of Steve’s home. It was a happy sound, reminding me to be grateful as I woke up to my pre-birthday. I suppose some people might avoid celebrating when they turn 68, but ten years ago in May of 2012,  I nearly died. I remind myself frequently not to take life for granted. I’ve been gifted with an entire decade since that health crisis.

On March 21st, I had another reason to be grateful. That evening my nephew Ross and two caregivers were in a restaurant in Round Rock, Texas having dinner when a tornado struck the building. David tossed Ross over his shoulder and raced to the restroom for shelter; Aj and David covered Ross with their bodies. The roof was ripped off; David had cuts from flying glass and the windows of AJ’s truck were blown out, but they were and are safe. I celebrated their safety as a birthday blessing!

March 22nd - My Birthday I wished my fellow March 22nd celebrants Sean Kramer, Donovan Jones, Steve Becker, Paula Barry, Brian Williamson, Darlene Young and Aaron Bond a very Happy Birthday! Five members of this list were LJer's who are no longer on the site.

Hello 68!! I’m going to eat a slice of my birthday carrot cake for breakfast! Carrots are vegetables, right?! I had a wonderful birthday!  It began with Carrot cake for breakfast, continued with phone calls from friends Casey Weil Holtzman, Coy Tow and his 4-year old daughter Meredith, my nephew Brennan, my best friend from university CH Prihoda, Jon Hayenga,  my sister Colleen and my niece Caitlin! Five of the calls were via FaceTime! I heard from 200 people on Facebook, Messenger and via email and text.

A special thanks to Steve Mitchell for making the entire week so special. I hadn’t been to a movie theater since Feb. 2020. We saw “Death on the Nile” in a  movie theater with reclining seats, enjoyed Mexican food for dinner, then watched  an Oscar-nominated film, “The Mitchells Vs The Machines” at home. I very much enjoyed both films and the yummy spaghetti dinner that was made for me.

March 23rd: Steve and I watched “Jungle Cruise” via streaming which turned out to be a fun, entertaining film. I especially enjoyed the cast which included Dwyane Johnson, Emily Blunt and Paul Giamatti.  During the day, we had continued the theme of the trip - checking out neighborhoods I might like if I move to North Little Rock or Little Rock in a year or so.

March 24th: The perfect birthday week came to an end.  Steve and I ate lunch at a restaurant called Old Orange. I had a pimiento cheese burger, sweet potato fries and a dreamsicle float (vanilla ice cream with Orange Fanta poured over it.) We had toured all over North Little Rock and the Little Rock metro for five days. I’ve visited there many times over 42 years. I really like the city, though I hate it's in a red state. It is very affordable place to live and own a home. 

When I wrote this segment, I was at a gate in the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport in Little Rock beginning the journey home. I had a layover and change of planes at Chicago O’ Hare and arrived home in Minneapolis at 10:15pm. Steve Backoff and Bella met me at the airport. 

The flights were smooth and American Airlines was fine. I stopped flying them a decade ago because of bad experiences. This was not one of them. I had one beef with TSA in LR. I purchased a container of pimiento cheese to bring home with me. I can’t get pimiento cheese in Minneapolis. The plastic container was unopened, tightly sealed, yet they confiscated it! What the hell?! My pimiento cheese was not going to take the plane down!

I arrived home at 11pm, got to sleep at 1am, was up at 7am and back at work at the front desk at 9am this morning. I'll be working all weekend. I am so grateful to everyone for the outpouring of love and good wishes!

I'm curious ... Does anyone else think Confiscated Pimiento Cheese is a great name for a band?