September 7, 2007
by Mike Palecek

Is This Heaven?

No.

But it's Iowa. And that's pretty good, too.

And it's almost noon, Iowa time. That's when the show starts. Blow that whistle. Pull those cords. Mow them lawns. Put them hamburgers on the grill. Give those cats some fresh water and bring in that wash. Rock on.

I'm not from Iowa. I'm from Nebraska. I have today off from work and I think I'll drive over to Norfolk this afternoon to visit two sisters who still live there, Donna and Rosemary. Another sister, Connie, lives in Fort Collins. We had a brother, Anthony, who died at birth in Canton, South Dakota. We drive through Canton when we go to Sioux Falls. The cemetery is up on a hill on the west edge of town. Dad and Mom couldn't afford a grave. When I heard I had a brother I was a senior in high school. I drove right there from Norfolk, with my dog. We walked all over that effing cemetery in the hot, hot sun. Couldn't find it. Then mom says when I get home, there probably wasn't one. It was a shoebox and a hole. Well, it was the best they could do. Mom said it was because of bad roads and not so great shock absorbers on the Ford, or maybe Model T, I forget what she said. It's sad. I try not to think about it so much.

Tuesday we had our protest at the four-way stop here in Sheldon.

There were three of us, Judy, Jane, me. We stood out there for an hour, in front of the new Mexican food store, across from Kum n Go, Hardee's, A&W.

Mostly we got smiles and honks and thumbs-up.

Some dumb guys hollered, but that's what dumb guys do. Give a monkey a diamond, he's going to try to eat it first, not step back to admire it.

Well. I might drive awhile and then take a nap somewhere if I don't make the three-hour drive all at once. It is a beautiful afternoon.

Can't find my billfold. That bugs me, like not having my proper papers on me.

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Nope. I looked there.

It's not in the dryer either.

Uh-huh.

Well, wake me up in October. I'm going to take a month to read a few books I bought in Lawrence and Minneapolis and somewhere else on my book tour a few months ago.

When I got back in May I started typing to finish this novel that's been in the works for a while. I finished it, then I sent it out to see if I can get it published. Now I'm going over it again to polish it. That's kind of backwards. Yep.

So, I'm going to sit in a folding chair by the pond waiting for my message in a bottle to come back to me and read me some, wonder about running for Congress again, maybe whittle some, maybe see if I can figure out how to make the next book the big one. The next big thing.

The next big thing.

Right.

And then I pass the hitchhiker by, dreaming of literary glory.

That would be just like me.

I'm going to take a month and try to do better.

Thanks for letting me send you these columns. I appreciate it. I might start again in October. I might do a lot of things in October.

Or not.

November's also nice and would suffice.

seeya

- Mike

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Mike Palecek [send him email] is an activist for peace and social justice. He served time in federal prison for civil disobedience and has run for US Congress. He has authored a number of books [click here to view] on behalf of the cause.