conclusions
-Wichita, Lawrence, Omaha, Kearney, Colorado Springs, Denver
-sleep deprivation; air sickness; barf bags; familiar faces
-The van loves us; the van loves us not.
-Maybe it’s riding in the van all day, but I felt more of the need to get up, get out, and be outside in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado than I ever do in L.A. I got sunburnt for the first time in probably several years. I walk here, and occasionally go to the park, but rarely feel an overwhelming desire to be outside sitting in the grass and breeze.
-A man from Odessa, TX, lives in Kearney, NE, which isn’t too far from Odessa, NE, and drives a tow truck.
-Don’t buy poetry books on the road and expect them to fill your time.
-bowling and skeeball and pinball; snakes in our van and in our bathroom; taking tickets from children to get bracelets; dancing to a game, dancing while bowling (with myself); talking while sleeping
-I still have moments where I can listen to music like I did in high school, and it’s wonderful.
-I wrote my name on a rock, and somebody saw it, so I exist.
-Denver is possibly boring, is possibly just boring on holidays, or possibly has a “good part” that we didn’t see.
-I like my friends a lot. (‘Why don’t you marry them?’)
-people flying to L.A. from Denver are much more agreeable than people flying to L.A. from Las Vegas.
-Waiting for the bus home from the airport, I met a guy from Nigeria. He was really nice except for when he accusingly asked if I knew where Nigeria is. I actually hesitated, wondering if my elementary/middle school teachings had failed me again and I would always think “East Germany” “U.S.S.R.” and “Read my lips: No new taxes,” but always forget the capital of Delaware, how to spell “guarantee” and the countries of Africa. (Egypt’s in Africa?)
-Both times I’ve been on the road now and come back, the bus stops I frequent are totally different. They’ve added handrails, moved newspaper stands, changed signs, and fixed things. I should leave more often. They’ve even started running the extra long Rapids along Wilshire.
-Yesterday in welcome-back-to-L.A. mode, I went grocery shopping (first time in months). Bought cheese, bread, butter, apples, walnuts, yogurt, and raisins. I’m happy with my purchases.
-I had such a nice phone conversation with Pam yesterday.
-I took the metro downtown last night to drop some CDs off at the Cocaine; met Christian from the Transmissions; got a nice walk; realized I could pretty easily commute to the LA Times building, if I want to go back the newspaper grind.