BoomerGirl Diary

I just returned to Seattle from my 40th high school reunion. The Sainted One and I flew into Chicago and drove west to the farm town of Orion, Illinois. Here is what I learned on the drive and while there:

~ There is a Subway and/or Enterprise Rent-a-Car office every 7000 yards.

~ Humidity kills.

~ Tomatoes and sweet corn grown in the Midwest are hands-down better than anything that we grow out here.

~ I miss the sound of crickets at night.

~ The tires sing on the roads there. Or they do that thumpity-thumpity thing that kind of makes it sound like you're on a train. Either way, driving seems noisier.

~ A great deal of pride, thought, and design goes into the town water towers.

~ Whitey's Ice Cream is still the best, although we passed taking a trip there this time.

~ Farm girls rise early. I thought that I was an early riser, but there's no comparison.

~ The house that I grew up in has once again contracted in size. I figure that by my 50th class reunion, it will have disappeared entirely.

~ The muddy Mississippi is indeed very muddy, and the fact that we used to swim in it makes me shudder.

~ Every time that we drive west from O'Hare Airport, it takes us longer and longer to get out of the suburbs.

~ Humidity kills.

~ Sweat bees are incredibly irritating.

~ When you get on a plane that's filled with dry, recirculated air in Chicago – where it's 90+ degrees with 90% humidity – and you hear the pilot announce that it's currently 57 degrees in Seattle, you can be pretty doggone sure that your sinuses will stage some kind of protest later.

~ It's very nerve-wracking knowing that you have to have exact change – precisely 80 cents – to get off the 294 tollway to O'Hare. Why don't they just man a damned booth? And $.75 is so much easier!

~ I'm envious of my girlfriends who still have a mom and/or dad alive.

~ We'll be going back for two southern Illinois family reunions in a mere 10 days. Why can't these public institutions and families plan their reunions around us?

~ There's a reason why everyone has air conditioning there.

~ There's a reason why every window has a screen there. There are very few screened windows in the Seattle area.

~ Humidity kills. And it doesn't do much for your hair, either.