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 college professor, back when we were dating, he was an opinionated (and often wrong) 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 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?
- Soulbliss
- Life From Here
- Slaying, Blogging, Whatever…
- There’s Hope
- Bloorb
- Conceive This!
- Age 30 – A Year of Books
- Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere Storkey, Storkey!
- Mommy Needs Therapy
- The Life and Times of Me
- Busted Babymaker
- Make Us Stronger
- Just Me
- The Not So Secret Life of Us
- Lee’s Things
- The Fertile Infertile
- An Unwanted Path
- Fractured Rainbows
- Dreaming of Baby
- The Second Time Around
- Reservado Para Futura Mama
- Fertility Challenged in Florida
- Melzie and Co.
- 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
http://soulbliss.blogspot.com/2008/08/afternoon.html
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/
Neat story.
Here's my show & tell:
http://polantworld.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-tell-6.html
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!
Heh. The only whatsit in the US. Great story.
Bea
I’m in I’m in!
And the “stoner college boyfriend” and “stoner college professional”, that made me laugh:-)
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
I’m showing and telling a flower show this week…
http://murgdan.blogspot.com
Yeah, I think you ended up with the better guy in the end. 🙂
Here’s my post for this week!
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
Here's my show & tell:
Great story by the way!
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
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
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
You’re clearly well rid of him!!
Here’s my show and tell…
http://samburgess.blogspot.com/2008/08/television.html
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
Bahaha, did we date the same stoner college guy?
I have participated:
http://makeustronger.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell.html
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/
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
this week, in NYC:
http://reservadoparafuturamama.blogspot.com/2008/08/show-and-tell-lady-liberty.html
I’m a little late but here’s my show and tell.
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
That is sooo funny!! Thanks for sharing. You always have such INTERESING show & tell stories!!
Here’s my post.
I hope that worked! 🙂
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!
Wait a second – you used to date my ex?
This made me giggle all day.
It’s been awhile since I’ve done this. So here we go!