FROM MORNING DRIVE JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 16, 1999

Home. Wisconsin. Cool blue

morning. Clear skies. Sun on leaves wanting to turn. The smell of autumn. This is a far contrast to conference I went to in San Diego for work, which was pleasant but swarmy. Was muggy with moisture in the air, a shimmer of haze out of the bay. With homeless men sleeping along the edge of the water, teen-age boys sitting along the marina talking at 4:30 a.m. I suppose if you live there year 'round, you know what to expect, just as we do here. The number of people sleeping on park benches and sidewalks made me wonder: don't they take of their poor people? That's just the Iowa farm boy in me talking, I guess.

Our morning air today does not smell anything like San Diego.

Clouds in the east, along Lake Michigan - they are reassurance. I am home here.

Most of the leaves have come off a field of soy beans - stalks and bean pods remain. The soy beans will soon be harvested. The fields of corn have turned almost entirely. Some few leaves on the trees are red already, and orange, and yellow - ah, fall. It is just the beginning. Fall, then winter.

We don't look forward to winter, but we'd be incomplete without it.

Comments

[Justin Evans]

I was just doing an "all blog" search for my friend Bill Kloefkorn and your blog came up, saying you were going to be sitting in on a panel with him in October. I think he's fantastic. We trade jokes and poems from time to time.

I just sent him a recently acquired copy of ludi jr. for his signature in the form of a ludi poem. Please send along my hello to Bill and Dave Lee, who is a good friend.

Stop by once in a while if you like. I occasionally talk up Bill and how he helped me put the final touches on my chapbook.

I would also like a heads up on Bill from time to time if you get the chance to tell me what he's up to. I may not have the opportunity to go out to Lincoln, but I like to keep up with what's going on.

justin