vignette.org |is| fierce

9.12.2001

I've been away from the Internet for a few days and I'm glad. I can barely bring myself to check other blogs or Web sites based in the NYC area. I have nothing thoughtful or eloquent to add to the constant analysis, commentary and news being overconsumed by TV viewers. All I know is that my entire family and most of my friends live less than 25 miles away from Manhattan and this scares me more than people know. I have pictures somewhere on this Web site of the skyline I stared at so many times, the city I've always considered my home. Everyone keeps saying that New York and this country will never be the same and they're right. It's not even about security on airplanes (And, please, would someone in the media put some pressure on the airports for dropping the ball in a big way?), it's about walking down the street without looking over our collective shoulder.
Tales of my trips to the Grand Canyon and LA seem so trivial right now. If anything, this incident (tragedy has been used to death, despite it's accuracy) could force us to concentrate less on the petty bullshit that clogs our days.
TJ DeGroat @ 2:55 PM | link

9.3.2001

Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 17:11:12 -0700
From: Tracy DeGroat <>
To: Ben <>
Subject: Re: oh
Ben, could you post this on my blog. Thanks.
Love you.
Notes from the Palm.
Crazy Places:
Versailles, OH
Brazil, IN
Paris, IL
Pocahontas, IL
Mexico, MO
Drinking in Ohio w/ Andrea and Paul. Spent way too much fucking money.
In PA, saw a retarded a siqn pointing out the highest elevation on route 80 east of the Mississippi.
Old Spaghetti Factory - St. Louis (and Oakland)
Nebraska and a lot of this part of the west is whiter than I thought. One Mexican dude. But lots of the gay in the cute Haymarket area.
75 mph in NE - because its barren.
Nebraska is so my favorite midwestern state now. The people are so cute. But once you get past Lincoln all of the towns seem to be built around the interstate. Fast food nation, yo.
There are so many insect carcasses on the windshield, mirrors and front of the car, it's unbelievable. Red splotches, too. Who knew insects had real red blood?
Preserving open space is such a hot-button issue in N.J., but it's amazing how open the West is.
It's definitely better visiting a place if you have family or friends.
Colorado - scary latin with an insane mullet. Denver is a pretty big city, but it is surrounded by so much open space. Colorado is so cool because the topography is so varied. We saw corn and wheat fields, huge mountains, the red rocks, the New Mexico-like rocks in the Garden of the Gods and even lush forrest.
My uncle lives in a gorgeous open house on a hill overlooking the little main street in Morrison. You can see the Red Rocks from his deck - gorgeous. We hiked there this morning and it was overwhelming.
One guy at my Uncle's bbq had the tightest jeans I've ever seen. You could see everything. Seriously looked like a roll of quarters.
OMG - first traffic in five days here in desolate New Mexico. A truck towing a Uhaul-type trailor bit the big one - personal belonginqs all over the road.
Ben jenkins @ 5:40 PM | link

8.30.2001

So, I'm outta here in about an hour. Candice is picking me up in her band new car (courtesy of the parents, who just bought it for her as a surprise) and we're gonna drive all the way through Pennsylvania (Hell!) on our way to Northwest Ohio. We're gonna hang out with Andrea tonight and ride on down to St. Louis tomorrow. Then it's off to Nebraska, if you can believe it, before visiting my Aunt and Uncle outside of Denver. From there, we go to the New Mexico/Arizona border for the night and drive past the big old canyon to Los Angeles.
I am: happy, excited, nervous, anxious, sad.
Peace out, New Jersey.
TJ DeGroat @ 6:36 AM | link

8.26.2001

Wow. I cannot believe it. Another singer dead because of a plane crash. This time it's 22-year-old Aaliyah. I've never been a huge fan, but I know her music pretty well and I just saw that MTV show "Diary" featuring her. Apparently, she was in the Bahamaqs filimg a music video. It's going to be extremeley cathartic and overwhelming to see that video get maximum airplay, which I'm sure it will, on MTV. 22 years old!
TJ DeGroat @ 12:01 PM | link

8.25.2001

Have you ever burned your finger? I mean, really burned it. Like, with an iron, maybe? You know, maybe by mistakingly grabbing the tip of an iron with your finger? The kind of burn that cause an inch-long blister to form the next day?
Well, take it from me, it sucks.
The only remedy is going into NYC with friends for an enchanted evening of drinky drinks.
TJ DeGroat @ 2:55 PM | link

8.21.2001

1. There's a really cathartic journal entry from yesterday.
2. Rolling Stone has the Britney Spears cover story online. I really love that they're putting audio clips of their interviews on the site - very voyeuristic.
3. I'm bouncing back east tomorrow and beginning the cross-country trip in about a week, so updates will be sporadic...unless I can figure out how to update via my Palm, in which case they will probably be very frequent. What else is there to do while driving through Route 80 in Pennsylvania?
TJ DeGroat @ 10:53 PM | link

8.16.2001

I really like Michelle Branch, whose pop-rock song, "Anywhere But Here," has been in heavy roation on radio and MTV lately. She's got a great female rocker voice - sweet and pure but able to belt, sort of like the lead singer from Letters 2 Cleo. There are a couple of songs and videos on her site. Check them out.
TJ DeGroat @ 2:18 PM | link