"Home"coming

It took 13 hours, but I am in Denver again! It's been 5 years since I was here at all; 7 since I drove in. Route 36 through Kansas is the same as ever...feed lots, cows, Pizza Huts, lots of interesting little towns. If I were an anthropologist, I would want to study the occupants of Bird City, KS, or Cope, CO. What's it like to live in such a small town in the midst of so much nothing? What does one do with oneself? What we consider rural in New York is metropolitan by comparison. The eastern Colorado landscape is virtually featureless...what do you do in a town of 40 surrounded by horizon?

I have seen roadkill in almost every species known in the US. I have been repeatedly entreated to vote anti-abortion. I have paid way too much for a pizza that scratched that itch for a very long time. I have been sunburned, despite wrestling with various fabrics to keep them from blowing off my arms and legs as the car windows stayed open to circulate the 90-degree heat. Kansas is not flat, but it does get old after 4 or 5 hours. Some jumping jacks and wind sprints at the Colorado border kept me awake, and pulling in KBCO from Boulder on the radio significantly increased my enthusiasm. All the old radio stations are still there...the morning show I listened to 10 years ago is still on! I-70 still smells like dog food, and there was a crowd filling Coors Field as I drove by. Being in Denver is making me happy. :)

I intend to post some photos, and maybe some comments on the last couple of days. I had hoped to make more incisive comments on the above topics, but better luck next time!

A Blog is Born

Hello, blogland! In the interest of keeping everyone up-to-date while I'm away, I'm telling myself (and all of you) that I'm going to keep a blog. (next thing you know, I'll be getting a cell phone) I'm calling it 500 nights because I figure, if everything goes according to plan, that's how long it will be before I sleep in my own bed again. Also, because the runner-up name, Little Heavy Sista, is long and probably confusing for all but a few of you. So, kind of like my travels and career, I have no idea where this will go or what it will end up looking like, but it's one more thing to feel weird about. Hope it turns out enjoyable for all involved. :)