Madison, WI -- August 9, 2007


Got into Madison at twenty after two and had to be back at the station by quarter after five. I'd intended on staying a little longer but, as a result of Greyhound being sold out--I rode the Badger Coach instead. If I'd known this, maybe I wouldn't have tried to squeeze in Madison, but I did and I had a great time. So great I had to sprint back to the station to get back in time.

I must note though, that Madison is humid. But, idyllic. I loved it. I want an office in an old building on campus, over looking the lake and twenty hours a day just to write and read and then another twenty to take runs around the lake, go canoeing, swimming. …but now I'm remembering that, unlike San Francisco, they actually have winter.

There were so many readers in a condensed area reading, aside from the woman who was studying for her GRE, about what they wanted to. It was like a Disney World of reading…have been passing amusement parks on the freeway, roller coasters, and state fair grounds, too—ferris wheels, ticket booths. If an essay is the movement of a free mind at play, then what is reading a book, the movement of a free mind at play with the intervention of an author? It is like your mind on a ferris wheel or, depending, a roller coaster.

It was the last day of the summer term and people were in a congratulatory just-finished mood….did I mention I loved Madison?

2 comments:

Special K said...

Did you try some cheese curds????? (:

Jules said...

I love that you describe Madison as a Disney World of reading. It makes me proud to live here.

FYI, I'm reading "Our Inner Ape" by Frans de Waal.