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One Final Trip in 2023

December 25th, 2023 by Kenneth Abrahams

It is hard to believe that 2023 is almost in the books. This year will be a hard one to forget. Washington, as it relates to our elected officials, seemed even more crazy than usual. Charges and court cases involving one former President continued to grab headlines, while new reports are surfacing that there is a potential attempt to impeach the current resident of the White House. Artificial Intelligence seems to have made our lives easier and at the same time far more complicated. How should this fast-evolving technology be used? Should students be allowed to use it in classes. Is it ethical for news organizations to have AI provide content without crediting it as a source? As the technology grows and morphs so too will the questions. Warfare in the Middle East has had incredible impact in this country. Protests critical of both sides have been staged in cities coast to coast as colleges and universities grapple with trying to decide what is free speech and what is hate speech. Our economy has been on a rollercoaster ride as prices for food and gas have gone up, and more recently back down again. Yes, this has been a strange and tumultuous year.

Normally my year ends with a few corporate holiday parties but not this year. My 2023 ended on the road. We have several schools in the northern part of Wisconsin that we work with and this year they booked us for our photo ornament program for the second week in December. To say I was not looking forward to the trek would be an understatement. Yes, it is a long drive out there but that wasn’t the issue, the problem for me was the cold. Northern Wisconsin in the winter is not known for its balmy temperatures, especially for the campus in Superior which is right on the lake. (For those that are a bit geographically challenged that is Lake Superior one of the 5 Great Lakes.) They have this little thing called the Lake Effect, which can mean additional snowfall, wind, or frigid temperatures.

After a trip to the mechanic to make sure that my Kia Sorrento would make the trip with no issues, I packed my equipment, bags, cooler, and off I went. Outside of getting old and long drives being a bit uncomfortable, I don’t mind being in a car for hours on end. First off, I love seeing different parts of the country. Going from cities to farmland and rolling hills to the flat parts of the Midwest is incredible. As has been documented in previous blogs, I love seeing beautifully manicured farms with tractors and harvesters, some the size of small houses. Being born and raised in South Bend, Indiana it is a part of the country that suites me well. Unlike my memories of childhood, I saw a lot of sunshine and blue skies on my trip.

One of the wonderful modern advances are podcasts and audiobooks. My companion for much of the drive was the book Killers of the Flower Moon. Not a particularly uplifting story but for one that loves history as I do, it was a well told story, very thought provoking, and entertaining. NBC’s Dateline also got more than a few hours of my attention. Although I was listening too intently to one of the episodes on the way home and got a speeding ticket in New York. Plenty of time was spent just looking at the scenery. Even though it was cold and the fields were brown there was still much to keep me entertained.

Statistics tell us that most Americans live within 50 miles of where they grew up. Although the percentages are smaller than they used to be, a number of people never travel beyond the region of the country they live in. I feel badly for those folks. Travel this country and you will meet fascinating people, hear wonderful stories, and understand that there are real regional differences. Moving from the Midwest to the Boston area, many people just didn’t seem as friendly. In Wisconsin, whether at the school, checking into a hotel, or going through the cashier line at the grocery store, people would greet me, ask how my day was, and then wish me a Merry Christmas. There is a genuine warmth with the people in this part of the country. Rarely, did I make an ornament for someone when I didn’t get a thank you or a comment about how amazing it was and that they loved it.

For 3 days, at three different campuses, I made Christmas ornaments for people. Usually when we do this program, we either put people’s names on them or take photos on site and put those on the ornaments. For these jobs, people emailed in their own photos. Although this created some challenges when folks sent in pictures that had a bit of a funky shape to them, I made it work and as previously mentioned they seemed to truly enjoy them. It was fascinating to see the photos people selected. As one might expect, lots of significant other photos, along with many cat and dog pics. More than once I was honored to press the last picture ever taken of a deceased family member into a precious keepsake memory. There were baby’s first Christmas and three, six, and 12-month photos. There were pictures that were decades old of people that I assumed were grandmothers or grandfathers, including one soldier from World War II looking dapper in his uniform. Less commonplace were the horse, livestock, and hunting pictures that passed through our heat press. There was a wide array of deer photos, more specifically successful hunting pictures. Some with couples in full camo, others with the whole family, rifles in hand and the deer proudly displayed in the forefront. For many of these groups, the deer are not trophies but a food source. For generations, many of these families have hunted and fished for food. No judgement on my part, just very different from the photos we are usually presented in good old staid New England.

It was truly good to get back to the Midwest. There is something comforting about being around people who are just nice, kindhearted souls. This was a very different end to the “normal” holiday season for me. There was no festive dress, no holiday ties, no DJ’s playing a wide range of Christmas Carols. Just some really nice, kind, down to earth people who really seemed glad to see me. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to my travels in 2023.

About the author

Ken Abrahams was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1960. Yes, he is a hick. Where he grew up is in the middle of farm country, although there is a lot more city out there now. Yes, he has ridden a horse, milked a cow, and been to the rodeo. Just as an FYI, cow tipping is not real. They are big animals that can be a bit cranky. It is a rural myth as opposed to an urban myth.

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