Hey there, Mikey D. here, taking over G’s blog for a few minutes.
One of the supreme pleasures of academic life (how many are there?), it seems to me is that you can marshall your few opportunities for travel in such a way as to get a chance to see your best friends now and again. This is exactly how I have ended up in KC for a glorious two-day hang out with L and G.
I was in St. Louis for the national Writing Across the Curriculum conference and took a train from there to KC–an almost six hour ride–4 of which were without air conditioning. Sweltering heat complimented with the voluminous, innane ramblings of some drunk-ass yahoo on his way to “Jeff City” (that’s Jefferson City, MO, yo) to go fishing. I’m no great fan of Jeff Foxworthy, but a line of his came to mind: if you’ve ever been too drunk to fish, you might be a redneck. Case in point.
My car had no air conditioning, and yet not so the other two cars behind me which I was not allowed to move to, for they were transporting a gaggle of young white Christians to God knows where (stipulating for this purpose that there is a god, of course).

A pilgrimmage of some sort to KC? God only knows. All I know is that I was cursing those God-lovin’, stupid headgear-wearing pre-teens as they paraded through my car with the gall to complain about the heat and close air as they passed through on their way to the dining car. Ah, but suffering makes you stronger to do God’s work, don’t it?
But I arrived still relatively hydrated and not so funky as I thought I would be, as after the sun set and the bulk of passengers disembarked at Jeff City, things cooled off a bit and my antiperspirant was steadfast. And now I’m hanging at palace L/G diggin’ My Aim is True, petting Max, my dear old friend and fuzzy former-denizen of Hyattsville, MD. We have a modest two days planned, including, I’m told a birthday party for G&L’s friends’ two year old. I am told that we’re going to a farm for the event, and that there will be goats.
Hell, yes, this is going to be a great visit!