Cabell needed to get back to Wisconsin so she could clean out her apartment. She’s going to give up her lease when she goes to Massachusetts for the spring semester. We had planned to leave Friday afternoon, but the monster storm that came through made me rethink that one. I kept checking the Road Conditions sites for Illinois and Wisconsin, and all day Friday I-39 was covered with ice and snow from Bloomington to Rockford. I wasn’t about to try that.
A few years ago I picked Cabell and Sophie up in Madison the day before Thanksgiving, then turned around to drive home. There was a lot of snow, and progress got slower and slower as we went down I-39. At 5 PM we got to the “I-55 2 miles” sign outside Bloomington, and traffic came to complete stop. Kids were making snowmen on the median. We took pictures of each other, sang songs, played word games, read to each other… We finally pulled onto I-55 at 9 PM. Two miles in four hours. We didn’t get home till 2 in the morning or so, and then I had to get up early to cook the turkey.
Anyway, this time the roads were in pretty good shape — some covered spots around La Salle, IL, but otherwise not bad. We got to Cabell’s place around 6 PM on Saturday, and immediately went to Woodman’s. Cabell doesn’t have a car, so whenever I drive her to Wisconsin, it’s an opportunity to do a big shopping. I’d never been to Woodman’s before. It’s great. It’s cheap, it’s employee-owned, and it has a big selection of everything. I even found some Tazo Lotus decaf green tea. Anyway, we eventually got back to Cabell’s, where we got pizza delivered, drank wine, and watched Dr. Who on DVD.
This morning I left early, and drove home without incident. Except for having to hear Prairie Home Companion about three times on various NPR stations. I like Keillor’s stories, but I wish someone would tell him that he can’t sing.
I like Keillor’s stories, but I wish someone would tell him that he can’t sing.
I think everyone I know who listens to PHC agrees with that statement.
I don’t actually mind Keillor’s singing, but then I’ve only heard it in short bursts, as he’s not regularly on the radio here. My mother has been a fan for years; she’s got a lot of tapes and we’ve seen him about five times at the Edinburgh Book Festival.
His stories have a weird effect on us, of making us feel nostalgic for a way of life we never actually experienced. (And now this is overlaid with genuine nostalgia, as I remember listening to particular stories during my own childhood… which gets confusing.)
I used to listen to PHC as a kid — we didn’t have TV, and that was our only real media experience as a family. I still love the Lake Woebegon stories. I remember one from a few years ago, about a load of New York psychiatrists who get stranded in Lake Woebegon on Saint Lucy’s night, which has me laughing so hard my then-boyfriend could hear me across two rooms and over the sound of the shower.
As for Keillor’s singing, it’s much better than mine.
Well, I’m not going to compare Keillor’s singing to mine. However, neither Reno (I bet) nor I has a weekly radio program in which he sings interminably.
I sing interminable, but only in the car and only when I’m alone.
Unless the car is bugged, it’s not being broadcast at all, let alone weekly.