It's a curious thing, but Southern Illinois is referred to as "Egypt" and there are at least three cities south of I64 with Egyptian names--Cairo, Thebes, Karnac (and others see http://www.illinoishistory.com/egypt.htm). The land between the rivers, where northern Illinoisans came to get corn when drought devastated their crops etc-- there are many versions of the origin of the Egyptian moniker. One reason the occured to me as I ventured there this week was that it might as well be Egypt since it is so different from Chicago. We went from sub 20s and snow to the mid 40's and rain, in just 330 miles. Then back again. Today here in Chicago its 12 degrees and very dry. Not enduring another winter in Chicago will be one of the adjustments I don't think we'll mind making.
The Amtrak Saluki 391/2 is a very good way to get to Carbondale, and it ran nearly on time both ways this trip. It was a lot of fun having Ryder and Karen along this time too. Ryder and I sat in the dining car and played chess for part of the journey both ways. His chess prowess is developing nicely and he seems to enjoy the game. I waited for many years to find a chess partner and now I have one! I remember fondly playing chess with my dad, so playing with Ryder connects my son to my father in a special way, though Wayne passed away long before Ryder was born. Five hours on a train is so much more tolerable than being stuck on an airplane. And the whole of the train experience is very low stress. No search or intrusion. You can bring food and you can plug your computer in. If only the trains were equipped with WiFi...
We are keeping our options open and looked at a new property. From the listing and photos this place sounded great. As soon as we drove up Apple Ridge Lane off of old Hiway 51 just north of Makanda, we were disappointed by the looks of the place. We went inside and the smell of mothballs was very strong and though it had been carefully staged, the rooms were so small it was easy to cross this one off the list. The Victorian Legend goes right back to the top and we are close to putting some earnest money down. Having some land many turn out to be a really good idea the way the economy is looking these days. Now the task of readying our house is our major occupation. It is gratifying to get the place ready to sell because it is forcing me to finish all the incomplete projects I've been sitting on for years. The technical difficulties with the moulding and installing the trim can no longer stall my efforts. One way or another these jobs will be done. Our house is not a fixer upper, by any stretch, but of course there is always work that can be done. We remodeled the kitchen so long ago that it could be done again. Regardless of all the work that is done, it will still be a 1913 vintage mini-Victorian. Knowing this makes us cringe as we consider buying an 1890 true Victorian, fully restored or not. The house on Springer Ridge Road will still be nearly 120 years old, new wires, plumbing, HVAC, kitchen and all. Bring it on! I do hope to avoid installing all new baseboard this time. One thing for sure, I have learned a lot about working on old houses and no know that the work is never done.
The visit to SIU was very productive as I make further preparations for taking over as head of the department. The Blagojevich scandal has everyone all a buzz. Both at the U of I and at SIU all bets about the recission are now off. It looked like Rod was going to cut the University budgets by 8%-- now who knows. These are very exciting times we are living in. The hope for change has morphed into excited anticipation as our junior Senator prepares for the Presidency yet we have to live through this pay-to-play nightmare while the Governor trys to sell Mr. Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. I heard the analogy, comparing Blago's blatant crookery to a shop lifer at Walmart who sees the security guard watching him and then procedes to stuff merchandise into his pants apparently not caring that he is going to get caught. Is he crazy, deluded or just a megalomaniac ? Apparently he is all three.....
