October 28

Another day in Nebraska, among other things.

1986

After months of forgetting I was pregnant, the last few days have turned around. I think about the baby all the time, or most of the time - when I’m not thinking about labor and delivery. It is very exciting.. I feel him move inside me and feel very close to him. I want him NOW, but I also know that’s not a good idea. He should wait until after Thanksgiving. I love you, Kiddo.

1997

A bit of a slip, as I had a tiny cold and felt achey and tired for a few days. The weather was cold and wet, which didn’t help. But today is bright and brisk, with glowing leaves and an energizing wind rustling through them. Best of all, it is Tuesday, a day when I can slow down and take stock of my day, my week, my life. (HA!)

The fall semester is nearly half over and I am not up to my ears, or even terribly behind. What a lovely feeling!

Comment 2023

Enjoy it while you can.

2016

What a truly interesting day. I will be blogging the clothing-related experiences on Gender Mystique, but there was also so much on the personal front! First, as I walked from the coffee shop to the library I looked up and saw this sign:

Brown/Harano was the camera/photo shop where my dad took all of our film to be developed. Our only formal family portrait was taken there. So it is a pretty evocative name! And then I saw this in the window:

This was my first reminder that North Platte is a very red town in a very red state. A recent straw poll by the local weekly newspaper reported that about 78% of those voting prefered Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton. (Hillary got 18%, followed by Gary Johnson with 12%, with Jill Stein, Jesus, Pedro, and Bill Murray all polling in single digits.) 

At the library, I talked to one of the staff members, who taught at the high school in the 60s and 70s and remembered the dress code battles of the time. Then I spent some time looking at the 1967 yearbook from North Platte High School, looking for former classmates. I found ten (!!!!) names that I recognized, four of whom still lived in town in 1999, when the last alumni directory was published. (Thank heaven for alumni directories, indexing female students by their former names and their married names!). Two of the women I found were also in my Bluebird troop.

Also also found a photo of North Platte from 1875 with a label showing the location of several landmarks, including the Unitarian Church, which no longer exists. The closest UU congregation today is in Kearney, about 100 miles east of North Platte. Oh, well.

I headed back to the Espresso Shop for lunch and some unrelated computer work, and overheard two patrons talking about meditation and theology. Deciding it was time to step outside my introvert bubble, I struck up a conversation and made two new acquaintances. Sherry is originally from Omaha, has lived in NP for about 30 years, and is a liberal, questioning Roman Catholic. Alan is the 3rd generation owner of the local clothing store, and promises to be a great resource on the shopping habits of local women!

Comment 2023

That old photo led me down a rabbit hole and into a project about a woman from Lexington, Massachusetts, who traveled to Nebraska in the 1860s. Good stuff; still unpublished, but I will get to it…

Comment 2024

Research still waiting for one more trip to Lexington. Maybe next summer?