Moving Out

I have an hour to go. Then my help arrives to finish off this move.

Goodbye, Best Way Inn. It was good while it lasted. The new apartment will be a little cheaper and I can pick an extra hour a day at work. That comes to another $200 a month. It looks like a good place to write.

Goodbye, free Wi-Fi and HBO. I can hike over to Ball State for the Wi-Fi. I am downloading old movies and lectures from YouTube. I will have more than enough music.

Yesterday, CC and I got most of the stuff moved. There was a problem with the lock and no hot water. I would like the bathroom a little cleaner and the blinds to come down. She was critical of the tree growing alongside the front porch and more. I wish she could put that determination to righting her own life. I had this low-level, persistent headache and did not have a truly cogent thought all day. 

CC got me a housewarming gift. I am uncomfortable with her trying to take care of me. It makes me feel old and useless.

My daily reports will not be daily unless I can get internet access on a daily basis. What follows is some stuff that I have stored up and some of what I looked at today.

Two trips to McClure's this morning - cigs and cat food, then for RC Cola.

I cannot recall what all I did on Thursday, other than going to the grocery. Missed the #3, so went to Target. I could have walked there and I did walk back.

Some fun stuff from CrimeReads Brief: 

THE BLOODY RIVALRY THAT LED TO THE FALL OF DEMOCRACY IN ATHENS 

THE 1931 MURDER THAT FORETOLD A NEW ERA OF CRIME AND CORRUPTION IN NEW YORK CITY

From JSTOR, Island in the Potomac

Theodore Roosevelt Island, which the NPS calls a “living memorial” to the 26th president, is accessible only by a stately footbridge from a nearby Virginia riverbank. Visitors alight onto a dirt clearing adorned with a map shed, a garbage can, and little else. A brief tramp leads to a statue of Roosevelt, flanked by four stone slabs and anchoring a moat-encased memorial plaza. Other than this iconographic scene, the island is blanketed in woodland and swamp marsh. Its trails are more popular with runners and outdoor education groups than with tourists.

Some Indianapolis history I never heard of: Self Care and Community in 1901 Indianapolis

Wellness culture often faces legitimate criticism for ignoring structural barriers to health and well-being. But there’s also a long history of approaches to self-care that integrate personal improvement with larger social and political projects. Historian Carrie Streeter looks at one example, the adoption of the “Delsarte method” by a group of Black women in Indianapolis around the turn of the twentieth century

I think the roundabout idea is getting out of hand, but I do not drive any longer: INDOT still has roundabouts on drawing board for East Central Neighborhood on old Ind. 32.

From the Thornfield Hall Blog, Why We Want to Go Back to the ’70s: The Bookstores!, a shoutout to old Bloomington (and one of the reasons I still want to get myself to Bloomington!):

Caveat Emptor, Bloomington, Indiana.   Located on a shady street across the street from the university campus, this bookstore occupied two connected houses –  and that meant thousands of rare and used books.  Johannes, who manned the desk, meticulously examined each book before he bought it,  and stocked only books in excellent condition. I was grateful to find reference books and dictionaries at affordable prices – which saved me hundreds of trips to the library.  The shop has been bought and sold a few times but survives in a different building downtown.

Christopher’s, Bloomington, IN.  Christopher, the dashing, restless owner, strode around town in tall boots and a cloak.  In memory, at least, he resembled the hero of a Regency romance.  It was at his store that I discovered the Nobel-winner Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter, a  trilogy set in medieval Norway, one of my favorite books, and a stunning analysis of the stages of a woman’s life. 

I have no idea what happened to Christopher’s, but it is long gone.

 I do not know what will become of the cat. He has been here all morning, and all night too. He acts like he knows there is a change coming. There was a visit from his nemesis, the back-and-white cat, and a lot of growling and low-level howling. I will miss him, and he might miss me.

sch