Click for larger imageI went for a long walk at midnight.  The temperature and humidity were perfect for walking:  warm enough to wear shorts, cool enough not to break a sweat.  Saint Louis is beautiful at night.  Ornate buildings and fountains line the downtown streets and are perfectly lit.  The Gateway Arch gleams above the Mississippi.  Horse drawn carriages carry late night revelers from hotels and clubs.  The walk was a perfect hour filled with beauty, free from distraction.

We left Saint Louis at noon, crossed the Mississippi and headed toward Lafayette, Indiana.  I love Illinois and Indiana.  These farming states have a unique beauty.  Farm fields stretch away from the road on either side.  Small towns marked by giant water towers appear and disappear into bits of forest.  A single photograph adequately captures the scene but not the experience.

Click for larger imageI like to listen to the radio while driving.  FM stations are largely corporate, nationwide affairs and offer little local content.  AM radio offers a crackling, regional variety of odd shows and music.  Most of the AM stations lean heavily toward the right and if you can tolerate the conservative illogical rhetoric, these stations can be entertaining.

Christian talk radio makes for both frightening and humorous entertainment.  Gay marriage has the religious folk in a tizzy.  Nothing makes Christians happier than the opportunity to judge others.  It is the conservative version of gay men judging fashion.  Gay men, however, aren't in the business of passing laws which prevent others from wearing what they choose.  (Although I'd offer a constitutional amendment to ban low-riding jeans would not be such a bad idea.) 

Click for larger imageToday I learned "the homosexual lifestyle is tearing at the fabric of our nation".  Having crossed nine states in the past week, I can say with certainty the fabric of our nation is polyester.  Polyester is everywhere, stretched tightly across bulging butts and thighs, encasing fast food workers, stitched around our elderly.  If my "lifestyle" helps tear this fabric, then I think the Baptists, Catholics, Methodists and assorted other "ists" are entirely correct.  And we queers should continue to tear at this fabric until every last Christian feels the comfort of cotton and the slink of silk. 

Once we are done tearing at the fabric of the nation, I propose we go for the hair next.  Spend an hour in Illinois and you'll know exactly what I refer to.

The destination today is Lafayette, Indiana.  This is where I entered the world thirty five years ago.  My family moved west when I was less than two years old and I think I may have returned once when I was six.  I remembered nothing from those early years (except the polyester!  Oh!  The pain!)

Click for larger imageLafayette is an adorable college town in rural Indiana.  The town is built around a large, ornate and wonderful courthouse.  The blocks around the courthouse are filled with well maintained, aging, brick buildings.  Across the Wabash River, Purdue University provides a constant flow of young energy.

In some cultures, mothers bury their child's placenta near the family home.  This purportedly ensures a child who wanders will always return.  I suspect my mother buried my placenta in a local cornfield.  The cornfield is now a shopping center and my placenta rests under a beauty college.  This theory explains significant pieces of my life.

Tomorrow we head to Cleveland and the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame...
 

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Pierron, Illinois
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Lafayette, Indiana
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Big Tits in Lafayette, Indiana
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Lafayette, Indiana
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Ice Skating without the ice
 
Road Trip 2004 : Day 10
St. Louis, Missouri to Lafayette, Indiana
Miles to date:  I lost track.  Whoops!

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