September 25
If you’re homesick for a time, not a place, you’re fucked.
2011
It has been a busy couple of weeks; in fact, increasingly busy. The last two or three days, despite having far too many overdue items on my to do list, I have spent hours playing a match three game on my iPad. This appears to be a clear signal that I need a walkabout.
Fortunately, Catoctin arrives next weekend. I look forward to this annual forest break from my clamoring digital life.
Comment 2023
Catoctin = the annual fall retreat for my church community. You’ll see quite a few Catoctin memories in the next few weeks, as it was a family tradition for nearly 40 years. We haven’t decided if we are going this year yet. I’m afraid that my 74-year-old body no longer likes the saggy cots in the dorms. Maybe just a day trip this time.
2017 (Nebraska)
My last day in North Platte. It’s been a cold, rainy visit, except that very first day. That made the prospect of a drive into the countryside much less appealing. When I got here less than a week ago, I had none of the longing I experienced last year. This time I have been fully in the present, which means I have more of a sense of not belonging here any more. When I interact with people, I feel like I am being fully myself and comfortable, but not at home. If I were single, I would probably come back for a while. Probably in the spring, and stay until the first snow. Or for Christmas. Or for a year. Of all the places I have ever lived or visited, this is the only place I have felt this way about, and it puzzles me. I wish I could feel this way about University Park, MD, where we lived for 35 years. The call of the High Plains is so strong!
Travel haiku
I don’t hate it here: I just want to be somewhere until I’m homesick
If you’re homesick for a time, not a place, you’re fucked. I’m serving notice now. If I am widowed in the next five years, I am renting a place in North Platte and staying here until I miss Maryland.
Comment 2023
Wow! How things can change in a few years! I would still like to visit North Platte again - ideally to see the sandhill cranes in spring. But I think I have finally let go of my nostalgia for postwar Nebraska. Thanks, MAGA.
2020 (California)
Yesterday: Another fabulous breakfast at Omelet Express, and afternoon brews at Cork & Tap, then dinner with mezcal at Lupe’s. We are eating well! Katie gave me a spindle and some fleece and a spinning lesson.
Today, a two-part lunch in Santa Rosa. Beer and fried zucchini sticks at Ale Warehouse, then iced coffee and a pork torta at Spinster Sisters. Back to the hotel for a nap/meditation break. And now I am completely wiped out. I may be done for the day.
Yes, I am sure I am done for the day.
2023
I’ve done it again: finished two of my three knitting projects. I haven’t been totally neglecting my other writing, though. Honestly.
2024
I think they should pay ME to get a mammogram.