• Location: Dubuque
• Mood: contemplative

the thing about lines

Spent a lot of time in lines today. There was the line of traffic on the toll road to the airport caused by stupid drivers who do not understand the concept of slowing down on rain-slicked roads. Then, there was the line at security. At least there, the seasoned travelers (like moi) know how to ditch shoes and remove laptops all the while moving luggage forward. Then, the line to get onto the plane with all the elite folks who think someone like me is not (elite, that is). The final line was the one at the Hertz rental center where none of the Gold Club folks had cars ready. Imagine about 30-50 bidness guys all calling to cancel their early appointments and some wandering down the line thinking it could not possibly be for them. I managed to find myself in between two good natured guys who joked with me about the preferential treatment we were getting (not). Then, it was into the Volvo with the keyless device that took me 10 minutes to figure out.

Final lines of the day were the rows and rows of cornstalks and other rows of produce as I drove from Chicago to Dubuque, Iowa. Stunning scenery, absolutely stunning. Trees in blazes of colors; small towns with kids walking home from school and houses already draped in fake cobwebs. I would not have missed this for all the lines in the world.

I will post soon about the books, I promise. In the meantime, I am loving being in a new state (for me, that is) and seeing all the sites.

ETA: Here is a lovely viewof the Mississippi from my hotel room: