Strange Travels, Part 11: The End?

My adventures in NY Chicago Iowa, continued: First Day of the Month

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I arrive in Chicago late, missing the science blogger caucus, but returning just in time to have dinner with some of the Colorado bloggers, care of Jared Polis, a local congressional candidate. The dishes at the restaurant, the Firehouse, are excellent (mmm... gazpacho!) but what I end up truly savoring are Jared’s ideas. He has some interesting experience... he spent a lot of time as a member of the Colorado board of education, and so understands the plight that our schools are in. He seems to have a good business sense, as well... this is the guy who started Blue Mountain Greeting cards--a company that has grown so big that I get spammed with virus mail in their name. Jared plans to promote open choice in schools. I watched as another mother of an elementary school child, whose concerns matched my own, cornered him on the issue, stressing the importance of providing transportation along with open choice. His response was refreshingly encouraging. If he gets elected, we might actually see some progress in our schools.

After dinner, while I settle into my excessively fancy room at the Hyatt, I find myself thinking not only about the future of our country, but about the country I saw, driving in--aging farmhouses and rusting windmills, biofuel booms (or expensive bandaids?) Inevitable changes--and finally the ability of nature to adapt (especially the insects, judging by the number of times I had to clean my windshield.) I think back to all of the buggy encounters I’ve been having, perhaps for a few years now. I’ve been wanting to write a new fictional story, maybe about damselflies or something equally lovely and creepy... maybe my own tale of metamorphosis, and the way the world changes. With all these insect scenes, maybe I have something. I’ll have to look at it when I’m finished with all this travelling...

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But just how is it supposed to end, I wonder?

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My adventures in NY Chicago, continued: Second day of the month A Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago(Note: This butterfly has nothing to do with the convention or the following post, but it was too lovely a shot to leave out.) The YearlyKos…
Oh, what a week. I’m still trying to recover from the YearlyKos convention. I had a blast, like the year before, even though I had some trouble with internet access this time. The access at the convention was wonderful... as long as there was sufficient power on one’s laptop. In the Hyatt above,…
My adventures in NY, continued: Sunday Morning I say the last of my farewells, and lament that I can’t see all my sciblings again before I leave. With plenty of time before my flight, I decide to go wander around New York a little bit. It turns out to be a natural choice... it almost feels as if I…
Note: I’m just skipping an entire week in my reverse chronological travel series here; glossing over the dull days spent between my trip to Chicago and my trip to NYC. It more or less went like this: clean, pack, launder, fill in paperwork, speak with old friends, acquire school items, clean, pack…

Thanks for the comment Steve. I actually wrote in a comment here a few weeks ago asking what was happening with this blog after the announcement that O'Reilly was dropping the Digital Media division. It's really refreshing to get an honest comment on what's happening. I really hope the blog picks up again.