In the U.S.

Yeah, yeah, yeah ... the blog has gone mostly silent for over a month. At this point nobody's paying much attention so it's a good time to post something rambling.

I left Paris a week ago today and flew first to New York, then on to Seattle, drove Portland for a few days, and then finally drove back to the Bay Area yesterday. That's a whole lot of America in a short period. A few things came into focus more this time than my previous trips back to the U.S.

Things I miss about the U.S.

• NPR!! C'est vrai. I dunno, maybe it's all those years spent living in the Bay Area. Maybe it's the ridiculousness of private radio stations (KMTT and KFOG excepted). But damn I miss it -- all of it. And BTW Oregon, what's the deal with your radio stations? Nothing but "Christian" radio and country.
• American grocery stores. Ahhhhh ... fresh bread, produce, and neosporin all in one store? That's three stops in Paris.
• Space. Granted, our flat in Paris is in a pretty dense neighborhood. But yikes - driving from Portland to San Francisco is one long openspacegasm. And I didn't even get near the fly-over states!

On the flip side, as soon as I landed stateside this time I was struck by the girth. Americans are huuuge! I suggest that we all take a cue from our president and adopt a rigorous program of high stress, exercise, arugula, and smoking. That'll do the trick.