Minneapolis – Day 2 – Sun Kissed and Moving (too) Fast

So much happened today and yet it is nice to not have to be anywhere at any given time.  I find it ironic that I got a speeding ticket driving from Minneapolis to Sioux Falls, SD.  More on that later. 

I started the day with the knowledge that there would be no yoga practice unless I did it myself, so I did just that in the gym of the hotel.  Home practice, as taught.  I think some of the weightlifters thought I may have been a bit off my rocker, and that wouldn’t be the first or last time.  It felt good, opened up my chi.  I didn’t realize how hard I have been pushing my body in the past few weeks until I tried to loosen it up after a day off.

It was a glorious, 70 degree day in Minneapolis and my mother would be peeved to know that I forgot my sunblock.  Not just the 30 sunblock that didn’t work for shit in the Caribbean, but any sunblock at all.  Fortunately the sun in Minnesota is not the sun in the Dominican so the redness is minimal. 

The Mariners decided not to show up at the stadium today and got flogged 10-0.  The Twins hit 4 home runs and 2 players, Aaron Hicks and Brian Dozier were one hit each away from hitting for the cycle.  That would have been cool, considering that Hicks is batting .160 and Dozier .222.

Often and when I am in my flow and in my true self, which is currently defined as my grateful inner child, cool things happen to me.  Or better put, opportunities arise out of situations that were completely unexpected.  Regardless of whether my definition of my true self is correct, I was in my true self driving to Sioux Falls, SD from Minneapolis.  It is about 300 miles of farmland on very straight and very flat highway.  My rental car has XM Satellite radio which is new to me and awesome.  There is a channel called Margaritaville that is all Jimmy Buffet, all the time.  I also enjoyed the 80s and 90s channel.  The decision was made to purchase tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert this summer, which will require travel.  I think it will be my 50^th or so Buffet concert.  Parrotheads Unite!

About 10 miles from South Dakota, I was pulled over for going 90 in a 70.  Oops.  In speaking with the Minnesota state trooper, who was tall and fit, probably 28 years old, short brown hair, definitely local by the accent, I told him the nature of my trip.  He said that he used to play minor league baseball and that he personally knew the third baseman for the Omaha Royals, the next stop on my tour.  He then asked me to write my name on a sheet of paper because he would be happy to ask the third baseman of the Omaha Royals to leave me a complimentary ticket for the game Monday night.  That led to this exchange:

Me:  “Thank you, that is very kind and appreciated."

Officer: “It is the least I could do after pulling you over at the beginning of your vacation.”

Me:  “Don’t worry about it, this isn’t my first speeding ticket.”

Officer:  “Well I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

Me:  “That makes two of us, thanks again.”

This is my life, my inner child and gratitude in action.  Or, it is just a really nice cop who likes to do random nice things for people after he pulls them over.  In pondering this I was reminded that it is impossible to come in conflict, or agreement for that matter, with society without society being at least part to blame, or in this case to positively participate.  And this means that the converse must be true as well.  Everything also happens for a reason, and I can't wait for the reason to be revealed.  He did give me the ticket, 80 in a 70.  He gave me the break on the speed before the conversation.  I think it is also odd that ten minutes before I got pulled over that I had an intuition that said "You drive too fast".

For the remainder of the trip to SD, I was pondering the freedom of not having to be anywhere, of being completely free from the rigor of the daily routine, and the irony of getting a ticket in this situation.  I had no reason to be speeding other than just not paying attention on a flat and boring road.  There is a definitive difference between being in a hurry and having a purpose.  Being in a hurry is a state of mind often accompanied by sloppiness and execution errors.  Moving fast, or in this case, too fast by the standards of the law, doesn’t equate to a hurry if there is a purpose.    I suppose that is why I am not the least bit upset about the ticket!