Having spent two weeks in Quincy, Illinois, Garth and Sarah decided on May 5th to spend one more week there, then to continue trekking up the Mississippi River. Thanks to everyone in this cool little city, especially our hosts Kathy and AJ! During this last week in Quincy we’ll be working with AJ on his [...]
Tuesday. April 30th. 2013. Little feet thunder across the ceiling at 7:30am. Peels of laughter fall thru the cracked ceiling tiles. Kathy’s grandkids make a good alarm clock. In the McDonald’s parking lot, white cherry blossom petals form drifts against the curbs. The day is warm. The afternoon is perfect. Kathy’s mom, Shirley, brings a [...]
Sunday. April 28th. 2013. “Eggs… eggs… taste so good without their legs!” AJ sings. Four of them sizzle in a frying pan along with hot dogs. I peel the silver seal off a can and the scent of coffee wafts up. A knife scrapes against toast. The coffee machine gurgles and pops. “The world’s largest [...]
Having found some great little niches for ourselves, we spent a second week in Quincy, Illinois. We’re still staying with the librarian Kathy and spending most of our time with her renter, the student artist AJ.
Saturday. April 27th. 2013. The crooked clang of tin raindrops. My uterus clamping down on itself like a crinkled sandwich wrapper, forcing out horrible farts. My day is going to feel like swimming in a garbage sack full of the last sips of a million Pabst Blue Ribbons. Change your perspective. You feel how you [...]
Friday. April 26th. 2013. The Quincy post office doubles as a nuclear fallout shelter. An aggressive wind blows my tattoos off as Garth and I walk toward the thick, broad-shouldered stone structure. Our friend, Tom, sent us a copy of Mark Twain’s Mississippi River travelogues all the way from Ecuador. He’s trying to get [...]
Thursday. April 25th. 2013. “Good morning,” Aunt Beck says softly. “I’m making an omelette if you’d like to come have some. We’ve got to get on the road soon.” She was offered a caretaker job and must start tonight. The drive back to her home in Arkansas is 9 hours. After we finish the mushroom, broccoli and [...]
Wednesday. April 24th. 2013. The sunny kitchen smells of Yerba Mate and Rosemary Tea. Aunt Beck gives me a huge hug and goes back to singing songs in her nightgown. Charlie sits at the table, smiling quietly. “Do you have a can opener?” AJ asks me. “I took ours to the studio and forgot to [...]
Tuesday. April 23rd. 2013. “Oh, good! You’re still here!”Kathy says, as Garth and I emerge from AJ’s room. “I saw your things were packed and gone!” “We moved into AJ’s room so you can have your living room back,” Garth explains. “You know, there’s a double bed down in the basement that you’re welcome to [...]
Monday. April 22nd. 2013. Snip. Sniiip. Sniiiiip. Garth’s hair is incredibly thick, but my little scissors eventually make it thru, leaving us with a 17-inch long ponytail, rubber-banded and ready to ship. The coif he’s been growing out since 2009 is about to be auctioned off on Eaby. His now chin-length hair starts to curl [...]