Ramblin' man

Random notes from the road, plus my weekly shareables

I’m traveling for most of the next six weeks or so, a little personal, a little business. After being laid up for so long with my bad knee, it’s great to be out seeing new things. A couple of tiny moments from the road:

• World Cup fever made it to the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru in Rock Hill, SC, where they were taking a customers’ poll:

  

  
  For those of you not Cup-savvy, that’s Lionel Messi of Argentina v. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal—two of the great scorers in soccer history. Messi is beloved pretty much everywhere, while Ronaldo is … not. So this tally feels pretty accurate. I also voted Messi, although I didn’t ask exactly what “would you rather” means. Not sure I really want to know.

• We stopped for a break at a QT convenience store in Columbia and found a robot cleaning the floor. I didn’t take a picture but it looks like the one from this Reddit thread:

  

  
  Alix said she saw a guy controlling it with an iPad. I could hear the robot talking, in a friendly female voice, but I couldn’t quite hear what she was saying … probably “Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Be careful of wet spots” or something like that.

• Lowcountry boil—a one-pot dish of shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob—is often one of those things that sounds better than it tastes. The timing is key, because every ingredient takes a different amount of time to cook. Something always comes out mushy or overdone. Which is why I want to recommend the Lowcountry boil made by Wood’s Seafood of Springfield, GA. We’ve had it twice and they nailed it both times. If you’re in the Savannah area, or passing through, get you some.

My posting might be a little erratic for the next few weeks, but I have a few things lined up already, so I’m hoping things will look pretty seamless. The days are long and the lightning bugs are out and the highway is calling. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear Gregg Allman and the boys.

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10 things I wanted to share this week:

1. My earlier post this week celebrated Pub Day for Denise Kiernan’s new book, OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS, about the women who helped shape the American Revolution. Denise drew a great crowd to Park Road Books on Wednesday for our discussion of the book. If you’re looking to catch up on your history for July 4, this is the book for you. It also feels like a perfect selection for book clubs!

2. The most fascinating story in sports right now is how Caitlin Clark is being treated in the WNBA … she’s a lightning rod not just because of the way she plays but because of a lot of larger cultural issues. This piece by Seerat Sohi touches on all of it in a smart and thoughtful way. (The Ringer)

3. A provocative and beautifully designed package: As America turns 250, what, exactly, should we be celebrating? (NYT)

4. Laura Lippman, the gifted mystery writer, starts this essay talking about foods that are bad for you and takes it to an unexpected and powerful place. (Oldster)

5. My dear friend Joe Posnanski writes about his dear old dog, Westley. (JoeBlogs)

6. We are in a bit of a state of mourning this week because the Charlotte Hornets traded their electrifying point guard, LaMelo Ball, to Minnesota for the very good forward Naz Reid and a collection of draft picks. This year LaMelo led a Hornets’ resurgence that was so thrilling, it got me back into the team for the first time in 20 years. The Hornets’ front office has been really smart lately. It may be that this move eventually makes the Hornets a real contender. But LaMelo helped make them relevant for the first time in forever, and his weird-ass game was a joy to watch. I’m going to miss him.

7. The best story of the World Cup so far is Cape Verde, the smallest country (530,000 people) to ever qualify for the Cup’s knockout rounds. They’re fueled by a 40-year-old goalie and hope. (ESPN)

8. My current favorite social media follow is Good Trailcams, a collection of shots from wildlife cameras. This young’un popped up on the feed this morning:

   

9. Dolph Ramseur, manager of the Avett Brothers, passed along this song from one of his new artists, a Virginia singer named Colby T. Helms. I love this guy’s voice. Here’s “Clouds.”

   10. A few of my favorite things mixed into one: the Turnpike Troubadours and Sierra Hull doing Robert Earl Keen’s “Feelin’ Good Again.” NFL star Christian McCaffrey is also in here for some reason.
   

Have a great weekend, everybody.

—TT

My books DOGLAND and THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM are available in all formats pretty much everywhere books are sold.