57.

"He was still too young to know that the heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good,

and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past

-Gabriel García Márquez

Love in the Time of Cholera

i leave wednesday morning at 10 am.

i'd like to to do some thinking on memory on this pilgrimage back down south. i often wonder what i'm remembering that encourages such a visceral responses. i am sure the memories themselves, at this point, are highly romanticized, but i want to find out what little nuggets of truth remain in the images of pastures, the smells of the south, and sheen of farm equipment. why do i have such pride in my eyes when i talk of tractors and rodeos and dirt roads?

is it really as remarkable as i remember? it must be sweeter because i haven't tasted it in so long.

i am planning to just stop when i want to stop – if a pasture is calling me, I'm going to answer. i'll have some conversations with farmers about the summer squash and tomatoes they are selling, and of course I'll buy their boiled peanuts.

i hope it's all a sweet as i remember.