Observations from the Road

The drive down Route 30 in Indiana is flat and not terribly interesting. I listen to music and try to be as present as I can make myself. I wonder why some towns look so sad why others prosper. I'm particularly saddened by decaying barns. I wonder what the out of business store "Pebble" sold. Did they just have one and once it sold lost their purpose? I see a sign stating that Fairmont is the "birth place of cool." This puzzles me because I thought that James Dean was born in Marion. My mind jumps to wondering if the crack house behind the Marie Webster House is still there. It's kind of fun to not really focus and to see where my mind will take me. Anyway, I make a mental note look up James Dean (he was indeed born in Marion moved to California then to Fairmont then back to California with his beagle named Max.) People are usually surprised to discover that I am a Hoosier. I was born and raised in NW Indiana. My immediate family all still live int the state. I will stay with my parents while I'm in Fort Wayne. As for me, I left in 1977 and lived a gypsy life for a while. It will be 11 years, the longest I have ever lived anywhere as an adult, this June that I have lived in Naperville. Have I told you how good it is to be home?