I talked to my old school tonight. Katie, who I used to work with, had been trying to call me and she finally got through. To be honest, I didn't really want to talk to them because I miss it all so much. I want to be far away from a veal loin and what to do with celery root. But then again, I haven't heard that accent in a long time. Such easy laughs. Such friendly people. Katie passed the phone to everyone on campus: I talked to kids, teachers, administrators, secretaries. She and my co-teacher, Susan, have been re-hired for the fall, even though their contracts are month-by-month. Things are getting rebuilt. The camp Katie and I ran together last summer is up and running and has 60 kids. Apparently, no one is mowing their lawns in Lakeview because no one lives in Lakeview, really, and rats are having a field day. It's putting people off their snowballs, if you know what I mean (and you only know what I mean if you've lived there).

I want to go home, home the way it was last August 25th.