Welp, yay!

  My backpack is horrifically squeaky, especially when it invades the silence of 1:30 in the morning.  It troubles that instinctual need to be quiet and unobserved, which I probably would have worried about if not for the happy drunk undergrads wandering around Madison.  The 2:20a.m. bus to Chicago was operated by a cranky impatient man who must have been pretty bad because he roused me to briefly consider being angry despite being within a peaceful sleep daze.  Sunrise over the concrete O’Hare airstrip brought out dozens of starlings nesting in the crevasses of those walkways connecting the terminals to the planes.  The birds flew alarmingly straight toward the huge airport windows before angling into their holes.  I spent an hour preparing myself to witness one of their bodies crunch flat against the glass, but we left before then, if it happened.
    Little sister Courtney picked me up from the airport after I mistakenly identified a car as hers because it also had a Rhode Island license plate.  Nice.  They all had RI license plates.  I don’t think I’ve seen one in Wisconsin.  Drove to our mom’s new house, which I hadn’t seen yet, and was exuberantly greeted by two of our dogs.  Miss them so much sometimes, and it can be heartrending how excited they are to see you again.  Anyway, back in the northeast!  Noticeably fewer blond-haired people than in WI.