Evanston: bicycle and water
Evanston: bicycle and water
Chicago has a severe climate, but not this year; and yesterday was another of the fine, sunny days that have been the norm this summer, with temperature in the high 70ties and light wind.
I rode my bicycle along the lake front in the afternoon. I have always turned back at Northwestern’s campus, but yesterday I noticed that the bike path makes a right turn past a sign stating that you are entering private property and do so at your own risk.
Beyond a parking lot I crossed over a small bridge onto a gassy knoll protruding east into the lake. There is a slight rise, but not enough to call it a hill. On this clear day, a great view of the Chicago skyline 10 miles to the south.
The marching band was practicing in scattered sections. Tubas here; drums there; etc.
Classes are not yet in session, so not many other people about.
A pleasant, almost pastoral scene--band members on village green--momentarily isolated from 10,000,000 surrounding people.
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Creating this site has taught me some things about myself.
Although my choice for the title of what was published as RETURN TO THE SEA was A LIFE OF WATER, more than I would have expected the site is about water.
I still prefer my title, which was meant to be understood figuratively as well as literally, life as flow, life which even as you cup it in your hands, trickles through your fingers.
In reviewing photographs I was struck by how few I take on land. I have hardly taken any during the last three months I’ve been back here.
I have been working on the Lists page, which is mostly about boats and voyages and books about them. I thought of including a list of unpublished books, which would be at least as long as those published and most would have been about the land. Or of other women who were important to me but I did not marry. But I decided not to.
So it isn’t that there wasn’t more than water, but that almost everything else has trickled away.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006