FIRESTARTER

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Laissez les bons temps rouler! part 3

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(Continuing from the earlier part 2) That was not the end of that exceptionally pleasant day. I went down several streets in the French Quarter in my wanderings, and was amused at the strong (and unsurprising) French theme for the street names: Burgundy (pronounced bur-GUN-dee), Dauphine, Decatur, Dumaine, Royal, Conti… but most of all I…

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Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’…!

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Now I’m safe home, I’m having occasional amusing muscle-memory lapses. Driving my housemates’ cars, for example (both of which are significantly smaller than Dark Star), I find myself reaching to the wrong place for the gear shift — or I wonder with some alarm how someone can drive with their butt so close to the…

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Laissez les bons temps rouler! part 2

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As several folks know by now, I’m home again — yay! Home is wonderful; I think it’s truly where those you love are, rather than any particular geographical location. I’m writing as swiftly as I can — whilst also unpacking, relaxing, greeting old friends, and otherwise enjoying myself — since I want to get down…

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New Mexico: very weird! part 1

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New Mexico is a very strange place! It has been consistently so through the years, as far as I know. Many years ago, when I was just out of college for the first time, I and Guthrum (my then-boyfriend) drove my parents’ horse van, complete with their horses, from Texas to Colorado for them, since…

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Arizona: a slightly silly place

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New Mexico may be distinctly weird, but Arizona has its own distinct “flavor” as a place with a sly sense of humor. Freshly escaped from New Mexico, I was aiming for a stopover at Paolo Santeri’s Arcosanti, followed by the Joshua Tree National Park in California. I cover Arcosanti in another posting; this one’s for…

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Mostly Texas

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Texas has somewhat of a bad reputation in the rest of the country. For example, I told some of the folks I know that I’d be driving pretty much straight through the state. The responses varied from (effectively), “Probably wise. Be careful!” from several friends — to an emphatic, “Good,” from my mom, who actually…

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Laissez les bons temps rouler! part 1

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I think I’m in love. :) I have never been in a city like New Orleans before, or seen a neighborhood like the French Quarter. I ended up wandering the French Quarter for most of the day that I was in New Orleans, in fact. By the time I left the city, I’d gotten: sore…

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Florida & ideological violence

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Jumping back in time, some thoughts from a few days ago while in Gainesville: It’s a lovely morning in Florida — yes, I made it safely to my parents’ place! Due to different schedules, it’s currently just me sitting in this nice, cool room and looking out into the lush greenery. The occasional tiny lizard…

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Who dat? :)

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I’m in N’Awlins! It is… an astonishing mix. Dignified antebellum grande dames draped with Mardi Gras beads on their wrought-iron upper balconies sit cheek-by-jowl with sleek concrete modern banks adorned with cocky neon signs. An ornate “classical” style court building gleams internally from multiple glittering chandeliers I see winking from a side window. Looking up…

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More road ramblings

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Pausing in a McDonald’s just outside Beaumont, TX on Sunday the 15th; driving progresses well, & I should be safely in Gainesville, FL at the appropriate time. I have discovered the perfect use for NPR’s Lake Wobegon (& other programs), which I do not ordinarily listen to: making the time pass with at least mild…