Fleeting Thoughts...

Some observations about Kettering....
First, and foremost, it's just a top-notch place for kids.  I cannot get over how family-oriented it is.  I thought Chicago was "good enough," but now I feel like it was way way way behind the pack.  Today we went to the library and I was blown away by the kids' section.  Chicago's section was always picked over and the books were dirty and torn up.  I thought nothing of it at the time, but now I can see it wasn't so fabulous. 
It's fun for me to watch the news here in Ohio because it's so tame.  Not to make light of any tragedy or crime, but it's rated PG-13 compared to the debauchery in Chicago.  Most of the news stories I saw last night had to do with confused old-lady drivers or sex-driven hillbillies.  There was also a story of a burglar who held up a bank, but wouldn't let go of the beer he held in his hand the whole time.  I applaud his dedication, I suppose.
One last observation, and this one I don't favor, is that there's a whole lot of white people here and not too much of anything else.  As my Latina friend back in Chicago says, "There's not a black bean in this bowl of white rice."    The neighborhood we were living in in Chicago was described as the United Nations because it was so chock-full of diversity.  We lived in a Mexican/Jewish neighborhood and right up the street was the Indian/Pakistani neighborhood.  If we went to the playground, Cece was often the minority, and I loved that.  This will be the one challenge for me as I raise my kids in this bowl of white rice.  I like spice and color with my rice, and my kids will be raised to crave the same thing.
Observations aside, I'm geeked out because I got a tire pump for my bike, so I'm going to finally start riding my bike again.  Once upon a time before kids entered my life, I used to ride my bike every day, so now that it's as easy as pulling it out of the garage (instead of fishing it out of a crowded storage space in the basement of our apartment building) there's no reason for me not to return to riding it.  I can't wait to tackle all these great bike paths here!
My copy of Louisville Review came a couple days ago. I haven't read my story in it yet, but it's pretty great to see a story I wrote published in it amongst really accomplished writers.  The wheels are slowly turning...