here's an out there kind of story. i just about finished a book about my great-great grandfather, who grew up near quincy illinois, went up to warren illinois, got married, and then got horses and wagons to go out to pike's peak to do some gold-digging. on the way they cut their trip short and became pioneer settlers in southeast nebraska, near kansas and missouri, out on the prairie. because this was the civil war, jayhawkers and bushwhackers kept coming through killing people and burning things up, so they bailed, and went back to warren.

it was the end of the civil war, but he enlisted, even with three children under four, and fought down in mississippi and alabama. upon his return he got a job in the warren independent, a newspaper, which then changed its name to the sentinel and still exists today. this was maybe 1865 and 6 going into 1867.

a woman just sent me pictures of some of these newspapers (they were weekly). amazing! i am now steeped in computer photos of ancient newspapers from those three years. i am trying to discern what exactly he might have written, and what he has to say about life in warren after the civil war.

it is really out there, to go back a hundred and fifty-five years, and see what constituted literary writing.

more news on the general travel front. the teens need to get out there. we are pushing back. we need to not be driving them to our deaths. the covid is coming close to home as my favorite towns, iowa city, ames, lawrence, and carbondale are all being very hard hit. i of course knew some of those people, in those towns, who might be most vulnerable. all us old hippies are now about 65, and in varying health depending on how much damage we've done over the years. lots of us are dead already i'm sure. if this covid ever ends, we're going to have one big huge music festival.

but in the meantime, there are kids to raise, lives to save, and it's rough out there. i feel for the people out there who are being evicted, losing their homes, suffering in one way or the other. in contrast, we have it lucky. we are still alive and healthy.

i delve into history, in order to avoid the rest. if i survive, i myself will become history, and maybe you will read this.