My Antonia, O Pioneers

Makes me think of Willa Cather, O Pioneers, My Antonia… From My Antonia: There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made. No, there was nothing but land-slightly undulating, I knew, because often our wheels ground against the brake as we went down into a hollow and lurched up again on the other side. I had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it, and were outside man’s jurisdiction. I had never before looked up at the sky when there was … Continue reading My Antonia, O Pioneers

Aberdeen, South Dakota September 18, 2021

This South Dakota sky doesn’t pull any punches. Even now—in early September—you can feel what’s coming: something big, something white, something cold, something way-below-zero cold—like 46 degrees below zero cold. There’s a not-so-subtle hint in this wind out of the West that soon, there will be blizzards, the kind of horizontal ice that whips your face off and causes you to scurry into whatever warm hole is available. Aberdeen, South Dakota reminds me of Hard Times by E.L. Doctorow. His book has a scene where winter is coming, and, because the characters have not built a house that can withstand … Continue reading Aberdeen, South Dakota September 18, 2021