Somewhere in Middle America
“Omaha..somewhere in middle america. Getting right to the heart of matters-it’s the heart that matters more.” -Counting Crows, “Omaha”
Well, I’m in mighty North Loup, Nebraska. I spent a great summer here 6 years ago. It seems like so long ago. Unbelievable.
Today, I once again traversed all the miles of I-76 from Denver to the Colorado line. I-80 took over from there, to North Platte, Nebraska. From there, Nebraska 73 to Nebraska 92 to Nebraska 22, and on in to North Loup. Tomorrow, I’m going to have coffee with the pastor who arrived when I did that summer six years ago. He’s established himself now, and they love him here, as well they should-he’s tremendous. Someday about three years from now, I hope to begin wherever I end up as well as he did here. Here’s hoping.
Tomorrow, I hope to get on the road sometime between 10 and 11. I’m off to Des Moines, to see my godfather and his family. I’ve not seen them in more than two years. I’ll have a decision to make tomorrow-I can either stay the night in Des Moines with them or take on the extra 5 hours home and be home late Tuesday/Early Wednesday. I can’t decide which I would rather do. My mom seemed to hint that they kind of wanted me to stay overnight, so maybe I’ll do that. It would break the trip into three sections, none longer than the six and a half hours my roommate and I drove today.
His journey is over. He’s staying here for the summer with his grandparents. I sort of envy him that. Life is very different here from Denver or even my hometown. It would be a good place to heal. *sigh*
We chased the tails of a storm all the way here. We didn’t get any rain or anything in Denver really yesterday, but it must have picked up some steam as it left the mountains. When we got about fifty miles out of Denver, it was there in front of us, running away. But we caught it somewhere in Western Nebraska. The lightning was flashing, and the thunder was faint in the distance. It’s a miracle we didn’t get wet.
Well, not quite a miracle. We didn’t leave until the late afternoon today, and we didn’t get into North Loup until after midnight local. My roommate just walked into my room, wearing some of the Samoan garb he picked up while he was in Australia this winter. He’s taken a particular shying to the `dresses’ that the Samoan men wear. He calls it his “naked curtain.” That’s probably about all the information you’ll need or want, but it will explain his quote as he just walked into the room: “I’m in North Loup, and I’m wearing a dress.” It’s some amusing stuff.
Well, I’m got some more steam to blow off, but this diary isn’t a safe place to do it anymore. I’ll update either tomorrow night if I plan to stay in Des Moines, or sometime Wednesday, if I take it the rest of the way home.