Never been called for jury duty here (maybe the lawyers are too smart to call me?) but I've had my auto muffler replaced and have been in other incredibly sad, boring, places.

On a week-long trip to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, I think I went through at least a dozen books. (I was installing an upgrade at Iowa Wesleyan College, which I don't know if it even exists any more.)

I remember that one trip above all others I've taken. While I was playing in a chess tournament in Chicago, my manager called me at my parents' house and told me I was going to Iowa. (That was absolutely unbelievable - that he found me at my parents' house on a day I was officially on vacation.) And the Saturday of that dismal ten below (or 13 below or whatever) weekend was my birthday. And the Mt. Pleasant Dairy Queen was open for business.

The only redeeming thing about the entire trip was the biggest potato I'd ever seem at the Golden Coral in Burlington, which was my birthday present, I suppose.

The hotel door just blew open one night (remember, at least ten below zero); at least the company didn't put me up in a college dorm :=(

Gawd I love to hate Iowa nowdays. :-)

The only slight revenge I was able to take was a limo (well, limo service, calling the van a limo is, I think, descecrating the English language) to the airport and back.

Oh yes of course I almost forgot to mention that the airline lost my luggage *both* ways.