So, How Was It?

Alright, Novel, you're thinking. You've sidestepped and failed to keep up with posting for over a month. Tell us about your trip, the conference, your mother. Like I said, it seems impossible that it was a month ago.

The conference was what it was--it went well, glitches were smoothed over, etc. I have a better idea for next time and the spring will be back in Boston. But the fall will be in Scottsdale (???). I know this because one of my bosses' brilliant ideas was a committee to decide such things, and boy, are they gung-ho. So I've been even busier since I got back than I was before I went. He also has an Idiot's Guide book coming out on Dec. 4th to promote, etc. etc.

Driving thru Kentucky at breakneck speed because I forgot to coordinate time zones with Musing, but had a good dinner. Then the drive through nowhere to St. Louis. I remembered then why I no longer live in the country. The gas stations were closed by 10:30. The highways were dark. The last 25 miles to St. Louis were hard--my eyes hurt. I had forgotten in legislated MA that smoking is still possible in restaurants. And I was tired.

Entering St. Louis from the east was interesting. I hadn't seen the Arch in, oh, probably 25 years. It was dark, of course, but there are always lights on the Arch. Oh, and I passed Busch Stadium--so three stadiums in a week. That would once have been barely noticeable to me. Like I said to people all week (it was the week of the World Series) the mood of my office would be determined by the outcome of the games--so I had a vested interest.

My aunt and uncle were...old. Quite simply--deaf and right wing. A strange but safe combination.