Saturday, October 16, 2010

Autumn in the Midwest


Just got back from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., which afforded me an excuse to drive around -- to loll, really -- southern Michigan and northern Indiana before coming home.


The gig itself was loads of fun. I'd actually forgotten it was an hour later in Michigan, which meant that hour cushion I'd given myself turned into a breathless race to be on time. So I arrived all pumped and ready to rock. I didn't read this time, but rather lectured: "Identity and Dislocation." You'd call it my stump speech if I was in politics, with a little variation here and there. The 80some students had read Ruins and had great questions. They were a super bunch!


On the way home, no longer hurrying, I got off the expressway at my hometown, Michigan City, and darted straight to the beach -- yeah, the beach. This coast in Indiana is my most favorite place on earth in the fall.