Come and Look for America

This photo was taken on my recent bike trip. I'm not sure of the location but I think it was western Illinois, back-country road. The guy lived in the trailer in the background and was out working on something when Tom and I stopped for the photo shoot. The power and strength symbolized by this vehicle so reminds me of America. We too, were once powerful and strong, the envy of everyone around the world. Our focus on greed is rusting and leaving us a shell of our former self.

Must Listen!

http://michael.susens-schurter.com/files/355.mp3

The link above is a must listen from NPR's This American Life. It is an easy explanation of the mortgage crisis. If these people were poor and doing this they would end up in jail.

Day 2

These are photos from day 2 of my recent bike trip. They were taken in Petersburg, Iowa which is really an intersection in the road. I think the population of the town is around 50. I thought the contrast between the church (on the west side of the highway) and the store (on the east side of the highway) were amazing. Being a Dr. Pepper fanatic I couldn't resist including the whole machine and cutting off a little of the competition. The pictures say a lot about life. On one side of the coin people have strength, structure, organization, answers, and hope. The other side of the coin has a combination of solidity, weakness, disorder, order, needs, wants, questions, hope and answers. Across the street from the Dr. P. machine to the north is The Detour cafe, on my last trip this is where it suddenly ended. Not this time, my trip partner, the wonderful Mr. G, rode on like a trooper. We followed the rise and fall of the land. We saw, smelled and marveled at the Iowa countryside as the miles rolled on. It is one roller after another but the views are great and the people provide the soul with restoration. This was a great way to conclude another school year. By the way, read On The Road.

Bike Trip

School ended and the next day I was off on an adventure with Tom, my team-teaching partner in American Studies. On Saturday we spent 70 of 79 miles riding into a steady 20 mph headwind. I have never ridden so hard for so long. We ran into great people along the way, people like the clerk at the Sherrard Casey's who came out and got our water bottles to fill them with cold water because she takes care of bicyclists. As cynical as one can become in our modern era, a trip through the heartland of America can remind you that some things are going well with our country. There are many people who will go out of their way to help. Anyway, we arrived in Muscatine, Iowa around 5 and just laid on the bed of our Super 8 thankful for a safe trip. More later.