Redhead By The Side Of The Road

 I have been a big fan of Ann Tyler's books for over 25 years now. I found a new one I hadn't read called Redhead By The Side Of The Road. Only 5 hours long on audio book, this one was highly entertaining. The main character is Micah. The youngest brother to 4 older sisters, Micah lives in New York City. He manages the building for the owner so he gets a free apartment in the basement next to the laundry room. He helps his tenants. One tenant on the second floor is dying of cancer so he adjusts the billing to install a grab bar in her bathtub. When she leaves via ambulance he offers her husband a ride. He was getting along with his girlfriend when she suddenly dumps him. All of his sisters and nieces and nephews want him to get her back. A young man shows up one day. As it turns out, he is the son of his college girlfriend. This guy thinks Micah is his father (which he isn't). He feeds him and lets him stay in the spare room for a night. His sisters insist that he should let the former girlfriend know about her son stopping by. He finds her photo when he googles non-profit lawyers in the D.C. area. The next morning she knocks on his door. Her son had left college and she didn't know where he was. She asks him to call her son. He calls the son. The son answers. Micah tells him his mother is here. The son hangs up the phone. He promises her that if he comes back, he'll keep him here and secretly phone her. A month later the kid arrives. He makes him coffee and burgers. He asks him if he should call his mother. The kid agrees. I would like to know someone like Micah.

 

 

Proving Grounds

Today I wanted to stick closer to home so I drove a short distance to Proving Grounds Recreation Area which is across the street from the John Deere factory. This park was way better than I expected. I was a little confused by the two signs. One said hunting season open and the other sign said no guns allowed. To be safe I wore the safety green vest a sibling bought for me. I walked 5 miles this afternoon and it was beautiful! After all the rain we got yesterday some spots were muddy so I walked on the gravel or the grass.

There were paths that said expert level only. I didn't take those. I walked around this cliff and up the hill. I saw some puffball mushrooms and I was going to collect them for eating but then I thought a dog may have peed on them so I left them there. I walked up to the goat prairie at the top. And I walked around the goat prairie. I read a sign that the tall grasses won't get as tall on a goat prairie because of the rock under the prairie.

This is where the John Deere factory tested their equipment. Each path is named for a different John Deere product. I saw blue jays and Northern Cardinals, red bellied woodpeckers, crows, black capped chickadees and American robins.

 

Shortest And Steepest

I wanted to ride the funicular in Dubuque. Here is the view from the top. Turns out you need cash, not a credit card.

He suggested I park at the bottom and hit up an ATM down there.

I parked at the bottom and walked to a drug store. I took out $20 at the ATM and bought a small package of Blue Diamond almonds.

I parked on this street and rode the world's smallest and steepest railroad. Four dollars is a good price.

I wandered around historic Dubuque.

This was near that drug store.

The train guy told me to visit this library. He said I should bring quarters for parking but I just walked. I read the Minneapolis paper. I talked to a guy who was struck by a semi driven by a drunk driver. Later he was struck by a pick up driven by a guy he knew who wanted his money to buy drugs. The guy wanted to murder him. He uses a cane and an electric wheelchair. Suddenly I felt lucky after talking to him.

Then I saw the capitol building so I walked over there and went inside. They don't give tours but I wandered around all five floors. I saw criminals talking to their lawyers. I saw accountants and tax people. This was an interesting place.

Cute town square with ginkgo trees.

I wish I could do art like this.

By the time I got to the art museum it had closed. But admission is free on Thursdays so I think I will come back here on Thursday.

 

Arboretum

My Air BnB host suggested a visit to the Dubuque Arboretum would be good for me because it's only a short drive from here. But then he said it might not be good because most of the leaves were off the trees. Today, this morning, I took my lunch with me and drove over there. This Arboretum is huge. I walked around for an hour and then called a friend and we talked for 2 more hours as I walked around. I saw a white tail deer up close. My friend worried I would get shot but there is no shooting allowed in the Arboretum. They had an English garden, a Japanese garden, a hydrangea garden, a prairie, a storybook path for kids and an evergreen garden. There was a playground for kids and a covered round stone area where two couples were dancing to country music. They were good dancers too. A few flowers were still in bloom so I don't think frost has arrived to Dubuque yet. I love looking at plants and trees that are labelled with their names. Their main building was not open. On Nov. 21st they have a holiday planting class for $55 which I am thinking of taking but I am not entirely sure I can fit a pot that big in my car. I guess I could just buy the birch branches, red dogwood branches and other supplies at a craft store. I could make the holiday planting once I get to Offspring #2's house when I get there. That way I could save money too. On the road to the Arboretum are some very pricey homes that I am sure cost a boatload of money.

 

The Body

I have read about five of Bill Bryson's books and I find him to be a very entertaining author. This time I read The Body: A Guide For Occupants first published in the fall of 2019. In my version he added an update about the COVID crisis. He starts out with the head and goes down from there. As he describes each organ and their function he also includes diseases of that organ and how they were treated in the past and how they are treated now. The United States does not come out looking good at all as we spend more on health care than any other country and have worse health outcomes that many countries including some underdeveloped countries. Sometimes women have worse outcomes and sometimes men have worse outcomes and no one knows why. I learned that some of the things I was taught about bodies are not true. There are not five areas of the tongue that taste sweet, salty, bitter, savory or sour. All of our tongue tastes those things. And we don't use only 10 % of our brains. That wasn't true either. I thought it was a great book to read.

 

 

Dubuque: People Of The Pack

The owner of this AirBnB gave me this book to read about the meat packing business here in Dubuque. He wasn't a meat packer. He owned a taxi business, a limousine business, and some properties downtown. I looked through the book. This meat packing business had their own doctor and a half dozen nurses to attend to things like a cut finger or an injured back. Seems like most people enjoyed working there although working at the nearby John Deere plant would give them a bigger salary.

I Like Swiss Chard

 

I am staying in Dubuque at one of the nicest AirBnB's I have ever experienced. The owner gave me a 45 minute tour and lecture when I arrived. He gave me ideas on where to go around town. He is a super nice guy. Anyway this morning I went to the farmer's market to get some veggies. Turns out the farmer's market is inside the JFK mall. I have never seen a farmer's market inside a mall before but the vendors like it because there is a lot of foot traffic and it isn't cold. The JFK mall is huge. I ended up buying Swiss chard, tomatoes, eggs, cabbage, green onions and a bulb of garlic. To make this I heated up some olive oil and browned the diced garlic. After about 5 minutes I added the stalks and then the leaves. I sprinkled some sea salt and black pepper and Voila! Lunch is ready. I ate the whole thing.