Editor’s note: Mark Bradford is contributing occasional posts from his diary on traveling the country with his wife Wendy while they rent out their Mishawaka home for six months.
Day 44 of our 190 day sojourn
Tuesday, August 8, 2023 Onekama, Michigan
Today is the day Wendy and I have been anticipating since the day we left on June 26. We return to the Mishawaka for a 23-day stay. However, except for six of those days, we will NOT be in our own home.
To be honest, it will be strange and made stranger as we are also picking up our dog and adding her to the trip, at least for a while. Having our dog with us creates logistical challenges and alters the trip culture in a manner yet to be determined.
So, today later in the afternoon, we will drive into Mishawaka and head to one of our dear friend’s home. She has graciously allowed us to stay at her house (dog included) and she has also indicated she understands Wendy and I will feel weird not living in our own house. In addition, we will be moving around a lot during our stay in Mishawaka.
And here is the other interesting thing. Once we hit Mishawaka, our schedule as a couple will split apart. For 44 days, we have been chained together because we have had only one car and one common agenda. The plan is to have the second car available so Wendy gets to do her things while I do mine. It will be an interesting contrast, especially given the addition of the dog and the fact we are staying in other folks’ homes.
However, Monday in Onekama, northern Michigan, was another wonderful day, capped off by a free community show by an Elvis impersonator who was pretty good. Earlier in the afternoon, I decided I wanted to wander around a local casino (by myself) and when I entered the door I was hit by the hypnotic noises, lighting, and smells that draw in the gambling addicts (and the almost-addicts).
As I walked through the casino gambling floor, no one was smiling. Instead they were staring at a machine, knowing that the odds are stacked against them but hoping for the ONE BIG WIN that would make their lives easier.
For someone not used to the casino atmosphere, it is quite a cultural shock. I mean, don’t the gamblers know that the casinos control the luck? Don’t the gamblers realize that these gambling mansions are paid for with THEIR losses? I only spent a few moments in the gambling area, preferring to find a quieter, lighter place, where I took a nap in the attached hotel lobby.
My path took me back through the casino gambling floor and a few minutes later, I emerged from the darkness and stale atmosphere of the casino and drove past the beautiful blue water and fresh air that is the lake on which Wendy’s extended family lives. I wondered how people can be so blind that they sit in casinos all day and just hand their money over like sheep.
I do know that, in the end, there but for the Grace of God go I. God has granted me wisdom, and an ability to choose things that are good for me. I know I am one of the luckiest folks on earth and today’s walk through the casino is just a good reminder of that.
And so is listening to an Elvis impersonator on a warm, bright evening as the sun sets over the dunes with two of our best friends.
I am blest beyond words.
See you in Mishawaka for a while.