I travel a lot. I’m not a global jet-setter or a frequent-flyer million miles, but I take trips throughout the US. I drive. I train. I bus. I cajole my friends to go to places I want to see by offering to pay for gas. I prefer to see where I’m going instead of flying.… Read More Audiobooks, Music, and My Phone
Twenty years ago, nearly to the day, I packed my mother’s Subaru Forester with everything I would need for my first year at college. My future roommate and I had corresponded all summer and agreed that in addition to clothes, bedding, and school supplies, I would bring the mini-fridge and CD boombox and she would bring… Read More Reflections on the New School Year
Whenever I tell people that I love Chicago and that I used to live there, the most common response usually goes something like “Oh, I love the Field Museum / Shedd Aquarium / Art Institute!” or, “You must love going to the Taste of Chicago!” or, “How many time have you been in the Sears… Read More Seeing America, Part 4 – Chicago
Full disclosure. I’m a Yooper. I grew up on the southern shore of Lake Superior or as one of my friends once said, “So you’re basically Canadian?” In fact, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (UP) is so set apart from the rest of the country that it often doesn’t appear on maps of the United… Read More Seeing America, Part 3 – The Upper Peninsula of Michigan
I realize now that I had a strange education growing up. In my home and school, we spoke regularly about the history and plight of Native Americans. My family read Black Elk Speaks aloud alongside the Bible and other religious texts. We learned about Ojibwe customs in elementary school. Our Civics teacher taught us the… Read More Seeing America, Part 2: The Black Hills
Two years ago, I decided to move to Memphis. When I told my friends and family, nearly all of whom are from great northern states, they were shocked. They said true and practical things like, “but you hate the heat” and “it’s so far away from home.” However, the also said some extremely biased things… Read More Seeing America, Part 1: What Is Southern?
Last time I took a Greyhound bus, I was 21 years old. Suffice it to say, it’s been a while. I am composing the post on a bus between Milwaukee and Chicago listening to The Clash. I’m typing with my thumbs on my Smart Phone (See Arroyo’s “thumb writing”). I remember my last trip on… Read More On a Bus. On a Phone.
