Category Archives: Travel

Nerk Shirts

The high school reunion may be my mother’s purpose in going to Ohio, but my purpose is to get myself another Nerk shirt.

People in Central Ohio tend to slur the syllables of Newark together so that it sounds like Nerk. Ohio sounds like Ahia. That may be a slight exaggeration, but it’s true enough that stores in Newark sell shirts that say Nerk on them.

Or at least they did in 1979 when I got mine.

I’m sure they still have them. According to the guide book:

You won’t endear yourselves to most residents if you call it Nerk, Uh-hi-uh. Though the cloddish pronunciation can be seen on an occasional t-shirt, laughter about it has long since subsided in this old town.

But the guide book is from 1999, so I’ll bet they’re laughing again now.

In Arizona

Which is right on the way to Ohio, in a non-linear sense.

Yesterday I flew to Phoenix, rented a Dodge Grand Caravan (they were out of compact cars), and drove to Prescott to collect my mother, whose 65th high school reunion is the reason for going to Ohio in the first place.

Today we’re driving back to Phoenix and flying to Columbus.

Sonoma Independence Day Parade

I’m in Sonoma for the Fourth of July, and that means a parade. And what says “Fourth of July” more than a giant fire-breathing iron horse vehicle?

Marauding horse of death

Except maybe someone dressed like a tube of toothpaste.

Toothpaste man

There were some other things too, but I didn’t get photos of them.