Across the country

I drove across the country for the Thanksgiving weekend. It was a long, long drive. A few Oklahoma cowboys challenged my poker game. I tried to read Kerouac for the umpteenth time, but I managed only the first two chapters in 18 riding hours.

Let me tell you about the card game. I made the dumbest poker mistake of my short career. Playing more conservatively than my elderly opponents, I called very few blinds and only raised to steal a couple small pots on the river. I was down a little. I was about to cash out when I got pocket rockets on the big blind. Here it is, I thought. Focus and play this right. Seven players were still in the game when the action got back to me. And you know what I did?

I checked the aces and flinched. I knew it was a mistake when I did it.

Dumbest poker mistake of my short career.

Two nines came out on the flop. A cop pulled me over for doing less than 70 in a 55 several hours later. I've been reading Super System and driving slow in construction zones ever since. I'm in a slump.

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I found a story on The News & Observer site about a flash dance party in the undergraduate library during final exams. Nearly 1,000 students suddenly swarmed into the lobby and danced to rave music for several minutes. If this sounds like a small stunt, you must watch the video.

The inspiration was a spontaneous group with the URL http://improveverywhere.com. They froze people in the middle of Grand Central Station, flew a blimp at an unsuspecting Little League gathering and sang a musical in a shopping mall food court.