Oh, Sewanee, I hardly knew ye. There's about a half-dozen fellow writers that I am missing quite acutely. I miss the opportunity to wear skirts and sleeveless tops without freezing (versus the conditioned chill of my 9 to 5 office). And the rocking chairs. I have one at home, but it's not when you're indoors. I miss rocking with a cold dark beer in hand, Jason Ockert the next chair over, and watching the quiet but fearless deer roam the graveyard at 3 in the afternoon.
The 12 hours each way was traveled with Jehanne Dubrow--I could not have asked for better company. On a practical note, there would have been a real danger of my falling asleep had I driven alone. Each time I was operating on less than four hours sleep. But more importantly, driving down we discovered things in common that made for good trading of stories; driving back up we exhausted ourselves of the post-conference notes, anxieties, and gossip that otherwise would have been inflicted on sympathetic but completely unoriented listeners at home. Thank goodness, on top of it all, we shared a taste for music and snacks: the recipe for a perfect road trip.
Easing away from the obscene indulgences of the Sewanee diet, I am eating only the most basic things: grapes, almonds, raspberries, bell peppers. Okay, sushi too--which apparently does not exist in Tennessee (maybe if catfish made for good sushi, there would have been sufficient common ground). And I am dreaming of the lavender-infused lemonade that they sell at ACKC, a little "cocoa coffee bar" on 14th Street.
There should be worldlier observations here, or at least something more tangibly related to, um, poetry. Maybe tomorrow.
ooh boy, does it sound like Sewanee was the ticket. Lucky you! I want some of that lavender-infused lemonade! xo, m
ReplyDeletei am from the South and went we went to visit Aunt E in her Nashville home, it was about 105 degrees the entire time.
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Oh, Sandra! It was my pleasure, thank you, thank you for letting me tag along.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jehanne
I just started making my tea(chai, green, white, Earl Grey, take yer pick) with rosewater. I had read in the blog, Poet With A Day Job that she makes her coffee with rosewater. It's fabulous in tea, but I don't care for it in Ethopian or Colombian coffee. Your lemonade infused with lavendar sounds delightful!
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