Friday, November 05, 2004

I fought the beltway...

and the beltway won. I-465 4, Lemming 0.

You would think that on my fourth trip to the same location in two months, I would be able to keep east/west and north/south straight. I repeat, it's useless to tell me that "all I need is Meredian Street" if I haven't a clue where it is.

I wish that Indy had an AM radio program that tells passers-by the history of various names. "Northeastern Ave" isn't hard to figure out, but probably not everyopne knows that "Fort Harrison" is named after President Benjamin Harrison. Then there are names like "Lick Creek." I'm reasonably sure that it was named after a salt lick, but curious to know how the name survived into 2004.

Speaking of President Harrison, I now have on my desk a book that was published in 1887, the year before he was nominated. This book is one hundred and seventeen years old - and it's on my desk! The library let me take it home! The pages are lovely and thick, and the font is downright beautiful.

Words Written: thirty (cleaning up footnotes)
Lessons Graded: twelve

5 comments:

John Burzynski said...

Think Meridian North/South Washington West/East

Anonymous said...

Ah - very nice. But how old is your desk? ;)
Steven

lemming said...

John - but where the %*%^&#$% is Meredian street? I went most of teh way around and still couldn't findit. Several gas station attendants assured me that it was " a few exits over." I smell a conspiracy. :-)

Steven - it's a fourth hand hand-me down, genuine pressed-wood, with a pretty alarming slant. If I ever land a "real" teaching gig, my indulgence purchase will be a real desk.

Anonymous said...

ryn: Being English, I go with the English. I just left ofF the numeral because there's no particular need to use it for the first monarch of a particular name. James I or James. Both equally correct. :)

Joe said...

4 years ago, Lemming, I was working in a library with an official position that, barring extenuating circumstances, a book only a mere 150 years old was by no means "rare" (i.e. for consideration for the Rare Books Room).

It does speak to an amazing trust when material that old goes out the door, though... and that trust must usually be kept, since we'd be pulling those volumes into "library use only" if it weren't.