PA & My Crippled Friend

Hey, PA.

Driving through the rolling green hills of Pennsylvania, the time went rather quickly.  In no time (well, 6 hours) I could see the steel of the Pittsburgh buildings.  The road to Pittsburgh was filled with a variety of Speed Limit signs: 55 mph, 65 mph - 70 mph at one point.  There was one point where I drove by a hiding cop with his speed gun (?) out, pointing it at traffic.

NO!

From my rearview mirror, I saw his scaly white car crawl out of his watering hole.  Like an alligator he slithered up the highway until he was behind the car trailing me.  He put his lights on.  The car behind me pulled over and gave into the predator.  Captured.

WHEWF.

As I drove across the state, I could feel the scrunched up brows of the East Coast slowly unraveling into a wide-eyed smile.  The quickened pace of New York and Boston transformed into a laid back stroll along the Pittsburgh streets.  Pirates fans were headed across the yellow bridge to the stadium as I popped out of the parking garage, feeling overheated in my jean jacket.  As I walked with my backpack, pocketbook, and side bag, I was also putting my hair up at the same time while checking directions on my phone.  The humidity was soaking up the hair on my neck.

I made it to my friend, who I've known for almost 20 years.  That first year of summer camp she was staying in the tent next to my cabin.  Layers and layers of life and memories later, here she is opening a new chapter of her life in downtown Pittsburgh.  She's a little crippled at the moment, hopping around the city in crutches due to a stress fraction in her heel from a marathon relay.  Not someone known to ever use a crutch, it's quite the spectacle.

And now, the moment I've been waiting for... the road to Chicago!  It's time to play all of the versions of Sufjan's Chicago songs.  I'm a little obsessed with Sufjan these days... but it's only appropriate.

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go