Category Archives: travel

Epic Eclipse Road Trip

These are photos taken by my friend Narrah of the total eclipse in Queeny Park in Ballwin, Missouri. I saw it from about 40 miles from there, another well-named place, Herculaneum, Missouri. In a park that had a good spooky … Continue reading

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Jersey Shore

My sister and I recently returned from eight days (11 for her) revisiting the summers of our childhood in Southern New Jersey. We never took these experiences for granted– we always knew that being at the Shore and going crabbing … Continue reading

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Coffee House Culture

Long Beach, California, is rich with coffee houses. All the old ones are still in place, and plenty more have popped up in the 12 years I’ve been gone. Like I did when I lived here and had tons of … Continue reading

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Static

It has been so long since I’ve posted! I usually don’t feel like posting when I’m on vacation because it feels so outside of ordinary life, which is the focus of this blog. After a lovely week with my sister … Continue reading

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Deep Clean and Great Finds

I’ve been hauling this file cabinet around the country since at least 1997. Though I think I got it earlier because I sort of remember it standing on the porch in our last apartment in Chicago. I can picture it … Continue reading

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Respite: North Shore

Steve and I got away for the weekend on a long-awaited trip to the North Shore, as Minnesotans call the shore of Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border  (really they mean Duluth to Grand Marais, which is too … Continue reading

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Check-in

Greetings from St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana. Or, more specifically, the Inn at St. Mary’s, a beautiful hotel on the edge of campus where I’ve been staying since Sunday. I’m here all week giving talks on The Saint John’s … Continue reading

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The Big Party

The morning I received the diagnosis, I asked about two events I had planned. One was a trip to Chicago April 13-17 to be a visiting poet at Joliet Junior College, where I used to teach, and to have a “book … Continue reading

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Gifts from Vegas

One of the more surreal aspects of recent history is the fact that I first experienced the chest congestion that led to the diagnosis while out in Las Vegas. I spent 12 days out there in the desert, first in … Continue reading

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Resiliency

Last night I caught just a bit of a Minnesota Public Television program with Kevin Kling. Kling, a Minnesota storyteller of great accent and great talent, was speaking to On Being host Krista Tippett about resiliency. Kling was born with physical disabilities, … Continue reading

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