It is such a pleasure to be in Ohio right now. The drive north was almost unbearable at times, particularly because I don’t have cruise control and my leg started cramping after several hours. However, the view in Virginia was exquisite—a landscape of orange red green yellow leaves.
The cats didn’t make a peep on the drive. I was impressed with their calmness and the fact that they didn’t have any accidents in their carrier. There’s been a lot of hissing and yowling here at mom’s house as her two cats try to defend their territory and my cats try to claim unclaimed territory.

Paul tries to explore downstairs

Paul encounters Marcy and much growling ensues

(no cats were injured during this photo shoot)

I’ve decided to stay here for the week while DS goes on to Illinois to find a house. This keeps me from having to drive back to pick up the cats later, and it gives me some much needed quiet time to work on the thesis.

The big news of the week is that Sen. Biden is visiting the town on Wednesday! Mom’s house is about a mile away from the local branch of OSU, and he’s going to give a speech there! He was scheduled to visit the eastern part of the state, and from what I understand, his decision to visit Newark was made recently. DS and I suspect he made the decision when word got out that Holophane (my mom’s factory) was closing. I mean, this is a factory that’s been opened for over 100 years, and the fact that it’s closing is emblematic of what is happening in a lot of places, and to a lot of working class people. I have every intention of attending the speech, and, perhaps, making a spectacle of myself on behalf of the workers losing their jobs at Holophane. Well, maybe I won’t make a spectacle of myself, but I think I’ll seek out the media to see if I can make a public plea for why health insurance shouldn’t be dependent on employment, and why universal health care makes the most sense.