562. Weather, Wendell, and Wander

Weather

Most of my six faithful readers live somewhere in the Ohio River Valley and for them my comments on the recent weather will not be news. But for the rest of you, across the country and around the world, it should be noted as newsworthy that the high temperatures here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606 have, for most of November, been somewhere in the 70s. The average high temperature for November in this area is 56, which is the mean temperature in this area for the entire year. Of course, there are twenty days left to cool down those temperatures as there is a reason it is called an average. And we haven't broken any records although we did tie one. The record high temperature in any November for Louisville is 86 degrees. After today, there aren't too many more 70s forecast.

Wendell

One of Kentucky's favorite and famous authors is Wendell Berry. Mr. Berry is a native and resident of nearby Henry County. Henry County is a beautiful largely agricultural county whose courthouse town, New Castle, is about 33 miles from Louisville. Berry's family is part of the gentry of the county where the Berry name remains very familiar. Berry lives on the far side of the county away from Louisville in the village of Port Royal where he has maintained a farmstead for nearly a half century. He writes about the agrarian way of life, sustainable farming, and other such lore, along with poems, newspaper articles, and magazine contributions. He is a graduate of the Millersburg Military Institute in northeastern Bourbon County along Hinkston Creek and of the University of Kentucky. (Note to self: someday I should write about MMI - an intersting place).

Tomorrow, Mr. Berry will be speaking to the Metro Democratic Club at their regular monthly meeting. I'm sure he will talk about the things he regularly speaks of, things that urban dwellers like to hear but usually do not have the intestinal fortitude to make happen - this writer included. I heard Mr. Berry speak many years ago at Bellarmine College. The Metro Club meeting will begin at 6:30 pm at the American Legion Highland Post on Bardstown Road, three blocks north of the Watterson Expressway. It should be a very interesting and informative night.

Wander

Unfortunately, I will not be in town to hear Mr. Berry speak. Of the many Metro Club meetings I've attended, this is one I would not want to miss. But I will. Earlier this year, I arranged to attend a convention which starts tomorrow in San Antonio, Texas. I'll be leaving during the day tomorrow and will thus miss Mr. Berry's address. Rather than take conventional transportation to the Lone Star State - a plane - I've opted to travel by Greyhound bus, something I haven't done since college. Earlier this summer two friends of mine crossed the country to Los Angeles - and then came back - aboard Greyhound busses. As they travelled, I got occasional text messages of where they were and what they were seeing - quite a show.

One part of the show, at least while the sun is shining, is watching the scenery pass by as we travel from Louisville to Nashville to Memphis to Little Rock to Benton to Dallas to San Antonio - and back. Another more interesting part of the show will be my fellow travellers themselves, maybe like Hemingway's Basque peasants encountered on the bus by Bill and Jake enroute to Burguete. I'm hoping to interact with a few along the way - hear their story - share with them mine, and so on. Wanderlust is an intersting affection.

*****

I probably won't be posting again until next Tuesday. Enjoy the week.