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Saturday, August 09, 2008

Circle Time: The Show and Tell Weekly Thread

Welcome back to Show and Tell. Everyone is welcome to join, even if you have never posted before and just found out about Show and Tell for the first time today. In fact, we hope you do go back to your blog and post your own Show and Tell item and then return with the link to your post. Details on how to participate are located at the bottom of this post.

Let's begin.

For this story to make any sense, you need to have a sense of my ex-boyfriend, E. Though he is currently a successful stoner college professor, back when we were dating, he was a stoner geography masters student who specifically studied urban areas and the economic impact non-urban trade and policies had within cities.

One day, we were driving and he commented that we were going under the only three-level symmetrical stack interchange in America (wait, don't interject here. I know what you're thinking).



I was probably 20 at the time and didn't think a lot of it. Fast forward a few years later when I am driving home for the first time from Massachusetts and I am slightly south of Hartford and pass under a three-way symmetrical stack interchange (a term I learned, natch, from my stoner geography loving boyfriend).

I am driving with nothing else to do but think and I am completely confused as to why I would have ever driven through the area with my ex-boyfriend. Yes, he had gone to school in Massachusetts, but it was close to Boston and I flew into Logan. We had never been out towards Western Mass and certainly not near Hartford. This bothered me for years. Years. Every time I drove under it, I was reminded of the same conversation. There is only one three-way symmetrical stack interchange in America and if I am driving under it then we must have been out this way at some point.

I finally email him: "Hey, I know we haven't spoken for months, but this is really bothering me. Were we ever in Hartford, Connecticut together? Am I forgetting a whole trip?" He confirmed that we had never been in Hartford which didn't make me feel relieved. Instead, I now thought that he must be lying to me because I was seeing the only three--way symmetrical stack interchange on my drives to DC and if there was only one in America, then we must have been out here at some point. It just made me feel even better about not sending back his jeans and flannel shirts when we broke up. Ass.

When Josh and I got engaged, we decided to get married in Baltimore. We had no connection to the city, had spent pretty much no time there, had no sense of the place beyond Little Italy and my cousin's old neighbourhood. But there was a library and we wanted to get married in a library so Baltimore it was. The caterer was also out in Baltimore and one afternoon, we drove down Route 70 to I-695 to attend a tasting. And guess what I saw when we pulled onto the highway?

The photo above. A quick google search of the term three-way symmetrical stack interchange reveals that there are probably dozens of these in America and I just haven't encountered more than two of them. A simple goal, perhaps, for another summer. A roadtrip to visit all of these marvelous structures.

I thought about this yesterday when we drove under it. My husband and I both smiled and Josh said, "you do know that this is the only three-way symmetrical stack interchange in the world." I'm so glad I ended up with the man who says that to be amusing rather than the man who says it to be pompous. Oh, and wrong.

What are you showing today?

Other People Standing at the Head of the Class:

  1. Soulbliss
  2. Life From Here
  3. Slaying, Blogging, Whatever...
  4. There's Hope
  5. Bloorb
  6. Conceive This!
  7. Age 30 - A Year of Books
  8. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere Storkey, Storkey!
  9. Mommy Needs Therapy
  10. The Life and Times of Me
  11. Busted Babymaker
  12. Make Us Stronger
  13. Just Me
  14. The Not So Secret Life of Us
  15. Lee's Things
  16. The Fertile Infertile
  17. An Unwanted Path
  18. Fractured Rainbows
  19. Dreaming of Baby
  20. The Second Time Around
  21. Reservado Para Futura Mama
  22. Fertility Challenged in Florida
  23. Melzie and Co.
  24. Who's next? Anyone wish to share something with the class? Forgive the teacher if it takes her a few hours to get your presentation moved from the comments box to the list. She is drinking with the principal in the broom closet. I mean, she has a terrible Internet connection.

Want to bring something to Show and Tell?
  • If you would like to join circle time and show something to the class, simply post each Sunday (or earlier in the weekend or on Monday if you can't do Sunday), hopefully including a picture if possible, and telling us about your item. It can be anything--a photo from a trip, a picture of the dress you bought this week, a random image from an old yearbook showing a person you miss. It doesn't need to contain a picture if you can't get a picture--you can simply tell a story about a single item.
  • Label your post "Show and Tell" each week and then come back here and add the permalink in the comments section below (make sure you don't just comment that you participated: add a link to your blog in your comment so people can click over). I post a new Show and Tell post every Saturday night or Sunday. I usually move people up into the body of the post every few hours.
  • Oh, and then the point is that you click through all of your classmates and see what they are showing this week.
  • If you want it...
    I've now placed a Show and Tell archive on the sidebar that will be updated each week in case you miss it. And click here for the icon code if you wish to have it for your blog. It links to the archives.

27 comments:

bleu said...

http://soulbliss.blogspot.com/2008/08/afternoon.html

luna said...

great story.

I'm cheating here and adding my already drafted post about our first home study visit for circle time:

http://lifefromhere.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/whew/

Delenn said...

Neat story.

Here's my show & tell:

http://polantworld.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-tell-6.html

Amy said...

As I was reading, I experienced the same confusion, knowing I'd seen that picture but have never been in Connecticut! Thanks for clearing that up...and thanks to you, I've had water ice now and am offically a mid-atlantic-er.

I'd love to play in show and tell this week! There's Hope Show and Tell Thanks!

Bea said...

Heh. The only whatsit in the US. Great story.

Bea

chicklet said...

I'm in I'm in!

And the "stoner college boyfriend" and "stoner college professional", that made me laugh:-)

Just Me. said...

What a great story!

Here's mine. It's to commemorate the start of the Beijing Olympics:
http://ttcwithendo.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell-let-games-begin.html

'Murgdan' said...

I'm showing and telling a flower show this week...

http://murgdan.blogspot.com

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Yeah, I think you ended up with the better guy in the end. :)

Here's my post for this week!

Stacie said...

Great story!

Can I play, too? I have a post to share. (children mentioned...)

http://stacie-heeeeerestorkeystorkey.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell.html

Thanks,
Stacie

Anonymous said...

Here's my show & tell:
http://sharonvw.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/mels-show-and-tell-cape-town-road-trip/

Great story by the way!

Lee said...

Too funny.

Now I'm going to be on the look out for those!

Here's what I brought this week:
http://leesvoice.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell-natures-canvas.html

Kristin said...

What a funny story. I love the stoner boyfriend/stoner college professor comment.

Here's my post SHOW AND TELL: Presents from friends and a present for a friend

Kristine said...

LOL Great story! And aren't most exboyfriends of the Ass variety?

Here is my Show and Tell! It is my third blogoversary today! Yeah me! I'm showing off my new logo and new online shop at CafePress, where anyone can buy Mommy Needs Therapy t-shirts, etc. (Shameless plug, yes!)

Also, a contest to celebrate my blogoversary!

http://mommyneedstherapy.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-third-blogoversary-and-contest.html

Sam said...

You're clearly well rid of him!!

Here's my show and tell...

http://samburgess.blogspot.com/2008/08/television.html

Busted said...

That is too funny. What a weird thing to lie about!

Here's mine for the week:

http://bustedbabymaker.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell-botanic-gardens-and-fet.html

G$ said...

Bahaha, did we date the same stoner college guy?

I have participated:
http://makeustronger.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell.html

AnotherDreamer said...

I've never even seen one of those (*blinks*)

Neat story.

I decided to do a show and tell this time, I enjoy reading and seeing everyone else's stories, so I figured I could give it a try.

http://anunwantedpath.blogspot.com/

Arian said...

I'm here with my show and tell. I actually wrote the post for Saturday but I just haven't gotten around to putting it in. My aplogies.

http://fracturedrainbows.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-will-miss-you-rocky.html

M de P said...

this week, in NYC:

http://reservadoparafuturamama.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell-lady-liberty.html

Malky B. said...

I'm a little late but here's my show and tell.

http://www.benedictfamily.org/show-and-tell-081108/

*Brandi* said...

Great story! I hate it when things bug my mind like that.

http://frogprincess01.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell-and-other-news.html

Jamie said...

That is sooo funny!! Thanks for sharing. You always have such INTERESING show & tell stories!!

Barb said...

Here's my post.

I hope that worked! :)

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

No Show and Tell for me this week, but as someone else who dumped a know-it-all boyfriend and married a funny guy, wise move!

Io said...

Wait a second - you used to date my ex?
This made me giggle all day.

Melzie said...

It's been awhile since I've done this. So here we go!
http://ramblingsofmelzie.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-went-even-shorter.html