It is currently 96 degrees! Way too hot. Even the corn looks tired off the heat. Tomorrow is picture loading day, as I wii have Internet service here...imagine pictures of Fancy Pants Farm, little kids bunches of flowers, an abandoned grocery store and more.
It hit 90 degrees today with 82 percent humidity. It drove me into Sears to get an air conditioner for the bedroom. Then it was off to Best Buy to get a printer so I can set up something that resembles a work station. I get high speed Internet with wireless capabilities on Monday. It should be helpful for any visitors that would like connectivity and will allow me to keep in contact with the students at the U of Wash. I will finally also have a predictable way to download pictures to the blog.
Tomorrow will be a busy day...the Midland Farmer's Market in the morning and the Munger Potato Festival and Destruction Derby in the evening...a first for me...pictures on Monday, I promise. The air is filled with the scent of ripening corn...it is a unique sweetness. Out behind the house is a field of sugar beets. I had never seen them before.
I have located a source for the Sunday New York Times...Barnes and Noble but they only get six copies so people reserve them ahead of time! You have to be there right at 9AM to pick it up, otherwise. I called and they won't deliver it to 8 Mile Road. Lots to learn about living in a new community.
Here on the farm there is lots of time to muse. Yesterday I was thinking about the future of our country and whether we are raising kids with enough resourcefulness to take over as we old dogs step aside. The kids that rode with me had what it takes, I think. They were curious about the country and wanted to experience it. What they did took a certain amount of risk taking, optimism, tenacity, inventiveness and sense of humor. Anna and Jeff were great storytellers. Interestingly, both have an interest in radio. Jeff writes stories to be communicated on the radio and Anna and Julie had their own on-campus radio show. They see their futures in photojournalism and reporting on the radio, urban planning for low income housing, social work within Hispanic communities. They are idealistic, a little naive which is a good thing, I think, because it allows for a certain amount of risk taking that our future leaders will need. I walked away feeling privileged to have met and ridden with them. I appreciated their candor and honesty. Their trips had been fun for them , informative but not easy. Sometimes they were scared, hungry, lonesome, lost but the figured out how to move forward. I think they each have the stuff our future leaders will need to figure out how to solve problems like debt ceilings, peace in the middle east, and how to get a Max line to Vancouver.
Yesterday was a long driving day...the cornfields of Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. After seven hours I stopped at a rest stop and inherited a couple of college senior girls, Anna and Julie and their hula hoop. They travelled with me for the last five hours into Chicago. Both are seniors at the U of Illinois in Chicago. They had hitch hiked out to the Rainbow Gathering in Washington and then headed home by way of San Francisco. They started with a total of $280 in their pocket and somehow made it with the help of a lot of different people.
Had a lovely evening with Ruby and Thomas in Chicago. The drive today was Really nice today. The temperature dropped to the 80's.
No pictures until I get Internet service here or figure out to attach them using my MAC.
I had a classic Nebraska day. I have been sleeping well out here with Jaci and Jim. Good bed. Out in the suburbs so no traffic sounds. This evening we went to the Stockmen's Club for dinner. One would expect that there would be meat and lots of it and you wouldn't be disappointed. They served huge portions of prime rib. The walls were decorated with deer heads. Lolo, Jaci's grandaughter, is three years old and she joined us for dinner. It was all quite fun. She is currently sitting with me drinking water from a wine glass and eating raisins. It has been such fun hanging out with a family who has three little girls.
