Back in time..........earlier unpublished updates............

November 3, 2010
Atlanta, IL
Yep, you read it right. I’m still in Illinois, in a town of 1800 (approximate population, latest census!), named after the, at the time, popular OTHER railroad city, Atlanta. It is, in some ways, charming, and in others, a bit dull and run down. The quiet and still that I feel here is both teeming with serenity and lacking in vitality. The first few days I was here, the weather was cold, dark, damp, and dreary. So was I. Until I finally took a hot bath and went to bed at 8:00 on the third night here, I felt in a stupor, unable to warm up anywhere. But I’m back on track now, as is the sunshine. Still brisk and cool outside, with the sun shining to offset the feeling of complete inner freeze. (The past two days, when venturing outside, I wore 5 or 6 layers, two of those being coats! What a wienie!)

Today, I did what I have wanted to do for all the years that I have visited here. As it has been with most of my trips over the past 30 years, I only stayed for a couple of days, and never really just settled into the daily life of mozying around town on a bike or on foot. There is not that much to the town, but it is rich in sights, history, and simplicity. As it is full-on autumn here, the trees that aren’t already bare are glowing in gold and crimson, orange and even lavender! There are tons of dried leaves everywhere, making that cool crinkly noise when the wind blows over them, or a foot walks through them. Not something I’ve been used to, living in Tucson for 15 years…………….

I spent about 3 hours just walking all over, from fields and farms, to the golf course and railroad tracks, back over the octagon-shaped public library on Main Street. I think I saw about 3 cars the whole time I was out and about.
This afternoon, I’ll ride over to the town (city?) of Lincoln, where my dad grew up, and where all of my relatives on his side are buried. A few cemeteries there are out in the open fields, on rolling hills with big, beautiful trees and nothing but stillness and silence. Quite lovely.