Evanston: a walk and a correction
Evanston: a walk and a correction
I drove over to Northwestern’s campus, parked and walked around the point that extends into Lake Michigan where I usually ride my bicycle. The temperature was 23ºF/-5ºC. Not seriously cold with proper clothing, but wind off the lake brought water to my eyes as I walked into it.
Five or six lines of small waves breaking on the shore made the welcome sound of surf. The edge of the lake has started to freeze, and the waves broke into a swirling slush of ice.
I don’t mind the cold. I don’t mind winter. It felt good to walk.
I had the place mostly to myself. One man wearing a red warmup suit jogging. A woman walking a black Labrador, pulling at his leash and her.
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My copies of Emile Zola’s novels are on the boat, so I downloaded THE DEBACLE from Project Gutenberg. As soon as I began reading I realized that I was wrong yesterday. The scene of the troops on a runaway train rushing toward the border and their doom in the Franco-Prussian War is at the end of THE BEAST IN MAN not THE DEBACLE. I’ve made the correction.
Zola is one of my favorite authors. I’ll reread both novels.
Thursday, December 17, 2009