For later use

Here's an interesting development:
Knox College announces plans for new Green Oaks multipurpose field station

In short, I think it's a good development.

Big Weekend

Heart of the summer, and, Aug. 18-20, lots of things going on here in Galesburg. I'm proud of the town for doing the best it can to entertain us resi-nts with high-quality small-town things to do.

The two that interest me most are the Heritage Days re-enactments out at Lake Storey and the Car Show downtown where I presume all the fine old cars will be parked all along the fine old downtown.

What I like the most about Galesburg is that it reminds me of growing up in Toledo Ohio in the 1950s. Kids still play out in the yards and the street. People still hang around outside in the good weather. The downtown gives the impression of being a downtown, such that even if you are a block or two off Main Street you are still downtown. And finally, a lot of people know each other, so you often see people visiting along the streets and outside the various establishments.

It has been losing population over the last few decades; most places have. In fact only the college towns and some places like Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming have really been gaining ground. Much of the US is experiencing a major population decline as whole swathes of young people either choose not to have children, or can't because they just aren't finding each other. I'm not sure what that's about entirely but it's covered up significantly by immigration and the fact that the young people now filling our schools and even playing on our streets are more likely to be not from the traditional families that have been in this town forever.

I didn't mean to turn this into a reflection on what Galesburg is evolving into, but I'm grateful that, as a town, it is still watching out for us and putting on the dog, so to speak. I read a scathing indictment of the City Aldermen getting lawyers and having us pay for it, to defend themselves against the consequences of their own shenanigans, but, I don't want to get into that here as I'd still like to see it more simplistically at least for the moment.

My son came here for about a month, to recover from a bizarre experience and rebuild his life, which is basically in Chicago. While he was here I tried to persuade him to move here, but, no dice. He's too invested in Chicago and it would be too dramatic a change for him to do that. Nevertheless, the experience got me a little different perspective on Galesburg as I basically tried to sell it to him. He enjoyed it while it was here. It will always, however, probably be his parents' place, not his, and a place to rest, away from the city's hustle. I was able to say to him, why go back?

One Year Report

A year has passed since we moved to Galesburg; we moved here right around July 15. I just came back from a whirlwind, week-long trip back to New Mexico, so I'm in a better position to know why I moved up here and how much I got from actually doing it. The family is overall much better up here; people have at least a chance of finishing school.

The biggest difference frankly is that the rivers have water in them. I like how the rains pound us, the rivers rise, then it all goes back to gentle green grass and corn growing like crazy. This "knee-high by the fourth of july" thing is just a kind of expression that makes you feel like it's a good summer, because it's always more than knee-high, as far as i can tell, unless you're a schmuck and didn't plant it until june. it's so tall and rich at tha moment that I'm wondering if it's in danger of being pounded by these storms, which, it seems to me, might ease up around late July. I'm not totally sure how it works. But I can tell you, New Mexico is dry as a bone, and although they are used to it, and I even got used to it at one point, there's no real getting used to living in a place that is not meant to be lived in, or which you can't live in without robbing the aquifer of its only life.

As for Galesburg, I find myself frustratingly silent as, having fit right back into the midwest culture, I'm hesitant to speak about things I don't know much about. I really admire the neon-green-jacket people, fixing the lights, taking care of the roads, etc.; they seem unusually competent up here. Down in the mountains we didn't really have them, and my neighbors used to drive around with chainsaws just so they could clear the roads if they had to. I found this out of my league; I couldn't use a chainsaw very easily, much less carry one around in my truck. Here it's nice to have people taking care of the roads, and the EMT, and everything one might need. I'm not really afraid of this storm wiping out power, as I would be in NM; loss of power there was always at least a 4-5 hour ordeal and sometimes more. And even there, the utility guys were good; it was just that there were so many fewer of them, and so much more land. And the mountains made the wild elements wilder.

Galesburg tries to give its people something to do. Now that it's summer, I see this, and I like it. There are just enough of us here in this one town that it's worth their while to have a few concerts and events. And if I can get organized, I'll attend a few of them. Once again, I can't speak too much about what I don't know. I've been pretty busy here with family events, and haven't really got out all that much.

I was not crazy about that haze that hung over for about a week. Glad that's gone, and good riddance, I'll do fine without more of that. Fresh air is a requirement. I guess I should count my blessings. We have it most of the time, and there's no way I'll move out to the Pacific Islands.

A Moment of Grace by Susan Van Kirk

A Moment of Grace by Susan Van Kirk. Writers Who Kill blog. https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-moment-of-grace-by-susan-van-kirk.html.

Thought I'd point this out since it's not every day that a good writer puts out a potent memory of Galesburg way back. I didn't grow up around here, so I have no point of reference - all I have is the modern library and the one I see going up and almost finished. It's interesting how libraries can be so many things to so many people.

It's also interesting how, though so much of the world's reading and information retrieval has gone online, libraries have apparently been able to maintain a crucial role in today's culture and world. I hope they stay that way!

Read this; it's a good picture of Galesburg.

Downtown

I set out walking for downtown today to go to a couple of events. the Big Write reception and the Wordsmith Bookshoppe's celebration of Independent Bookstore Day.

It was a cold, blustery day - it seems to me it's been a long, cold spring - but walking is pleasant as my route takes me down North Broad and through the loop to the llibrary. I got to look at the Carl Sandburg and dog statue, and all the trees were blooming. There was no train anywhere in sight.

In the library the second floor room had lots of chairs set out and there were twenty-four people, more or less, including me, there. Most either had won something or was family of someone who had. I on the other hand had entered a story, and it hadn't won, so I was eager to hear the winners to see what one had to do.

The library woman explained how the judges were independent volunteers. They had cookies and lemonade and I ate a cookie. I was disappointed that my hearing aids weren't working that well and I had trouble with several of the readings, as there was too much echo and not enough clarity. If I had sat right up front I might have been able to read lips, but I didn't really want to sit up front.

They said that the Big Write entries were put into a publication which they would make available, but it might have mature content. In fact, one of the high schoolers who had pink hair mentioned that her reading would have mature content - at least that's what I think she said, because a group of people just walked out when she said it, and returned when her reading was over. I wasn't sure about what exactly her reading had, though I know it had geno/sui/cide in it and that enough was probably objectionable to some. What's the point if you can't be a little edgy? I thought it was good although I didn't quite understand everything that was going on.

Most contestants got a certificate of their winning and I think some money exchanged hands too. I was disappointed not to win, but my attitude is this: the money is encouragement to keep writing, and I don't need encouragement; I'm going to write anyway. So if it actually works to make someone feel good, I'll find my own money to keep going. Except that, in fact, I do get discouraged sometimes.

The Adult Short Story winner was an older guy with a hat and a story about a Christmas letter. His voice was louder than the rest and he clearly had good humor as people laughed at his jokes. I however still had trouble hearing it exactly. It reminded me that I still spend so much time in my own chair, with a wife who speaks right into my face, that I don't have enough experience out in the world where I should know I have to move right up to the front to get anything out of it.

After it was over I walked the two blocks to the bookstore, and I was grateful to have a town whose downtown is so big you can be a street or two off the main drag and still be in the downtown. It's a pleasant place, actually, and there are bar neighborhoods. There's clearly plenty of alcohol happening on top of the other things downtowns have. These are not really the days of downtowns, what with covid and all, and a shrinking population, but to me I was in a big city and I kind of liked the traffic, the action, the many different things going on. Some buildings were clearly vacant. Sometimes, I'm sure, it's absolutely empty, and that's not a good feeling. But today it was feeling lively.

The bookstore had some giveaways and lots of sales but I wasn't in a buying mood. I picked up a souvenir pencil and set out for home, this time along Prairie Street. The wind was so stiff I had to hold my hat or I'd lose it. The houses on Prairie Street are quite nice, though, and there's lots of green grass and flowers. I was home to my chair soon enough.

If you're a writer you have to get out and experience the writer's life. I was somewhat quiet - nobody knew who I was. Next year I'll win the darn thing, that is, if I see it coming around.

4-14 accident

A lot of excitement transpired more or less right outside my house today, as a van hit another car and flipped entirely over, about two houses north of mine on North Broad. Those of you who know Galesburg will already know now where I live, as it seems all of Galesburg was out there to watch as they towed the cars away.

I asked someone how it happened, but they didn't know much more than I could see. I could see the right side of a small red car banged up; that car had actually been pushed up into a drivewayy y so it was more or less off the road. It had been pushed about a car-width off the road, in other words, and right near it, in the middle of the road, was the van, resting on its roof. One could see that it wasn't entirely crushed; banged up a little, but not crushed.

The people I talked to confirmed that the driver of the van was not seriously injured but was taken in anyway by an emergency vehicle. That's a relief. I hate people dying or getting mangled on my street.

But still, the question is, how do you flip a van right in the middle of a city street?

I guess the answer to that must be that he/she was going way too fast. I can't imagine, myself, how it could have played out, such that the small red car just moved straight off the road (still facing the same direction, but probably forward or back, since it was in a driveway) with bang-up marks on its side, whereas the van was right near it but still in the road.

Guess I'll read about it in the news. I commend the Galesburg Fire & EMT for all being there and being right on top of it, literally. I'm impressed at how the town workds.