Happy blogiversary
09.05.2003Today marks a full year of blogging. What a strange trip it's been; I wish I'd started earlier. In one year, I graduated from Blogger to Movable Type, dated three girls, flew to San Francisco to visit Ali, almost dropped out of grad school in desperation, then won a Fulbright for my dissertation research. And so much more.
I drove back to Kalamazoo today. I spent three times as much time on the road as in town. My dissertation committee finally got together for a pre-field trip meeting. It was actually more useful (for me) than I thought it'd be — I drove very grudgingly towards campus. Everyone gave good advice and comments on my research timeline and proceedures.
And Dr. Hauptmann (my dissertation advisor/chair) gave me a 1907 hardcover edition of Henry James' The American as a gift. She never ceases to amaze me; the perfect mentor. She inscribed it:
For Miguel who once expressed a wish for a world of truth-tellers much like the wish expressed by the main character in this novel. Emily
I drove back home through heavy traffic and was nearly run off the highway by a swerving truck at 80 miles per hour. It was brutal. I hate the interstate. I was much happier once I got back on M-52, taking the slow, sceninc route through Michigan farmlands.
Stopped at the Crossroads Cafe in Oakland, a tiny village between Owosso and St. Charles. Hot, roadside coffee and a walleye dinner hit the spot. And they served it w/ green beans. These are known as "gramma beans" in my family because my great-grandma Cunningham lived on a farm outside Saginaw. I still hazily remember shucking string beans w/ her on a hot July summer afternoon.
The best part of travelling is seeing the slow, rolling evolution of the countryside around you. This is as true for America as anyplace else. I'm constantly amazed by people who rave about quaint little towns in Europe or sleepy villages in Latin America but fail to appreciate the same in the American midwest.
Next time you take a trip, avoid the interstate, take state highways. If you think you know America, you're wrong.
Posted by Miguel at 06:54 PM
Comments
I love backroads and the country, I always get gas in that town (Oakley). Lately I have had more of a desire to live in the country, have a big barn to work on my cars in, and space to just do whatever comes to mind. However, I would need to be within comfortable driving distance to a big city with fun resterants.
Posted by: sam at September 5, 2003 08:00 PM
Oh, definitely! I always want to live w/in an hour or so from a major city. Preferably, NYC.
Posted by: Miguel at September 5, 2003 08:53 PM