chirps, cries and laughter wake me up in the morning. sweet housemates all happy with what they discover in their shoe. with marÃa and me living in this house we just knew that Sinterklaas would not forget to come by, despite the distance which must wear the old man out. it did take some convincing to get our housemates to put out their shoe (“you mean, a real shoe, one i actually wear?” yes, this is from way before stylized Santa stockings). i just have time enough (in between packing and finishing up yet another article…) to pour my Sinterklaas goodies in a bag, put my foot in that shoe and run out to the Santa Cruz Metro station.
a long day of travelling. once more i get blessed with a clear sky and see the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. i even get to see the Mississippi this time, shining in the dark. an overlay in Denver and i find myself, yet again, investigating how cities and regions get branded in these transitory spaces (so what is one supposed to bring home from this place…). Denver airport is quite an impressive one among its species, i had already noticed. on the flight to Denver i shared the row with an engineer who was (vaguely…) involved in its construction and who remained filled with admiration for the project (i learned that the building is supposed to be storm and tornado proof).
walking through corridors of gates my eyes fall on a guy leaning on his guitar. i look at the gate number and sure enough, this is my flight. i’m going to Nashville. to meet maggie.
