The end is near

Life seems to have been off and on interesting the past few weeks. One more week until the semester is done. I guess that could be taken as good or bad. I just have a few finals to kick my ass and then it will be all said and done by Wednesday afternoon. Then the party starts. A stop in Springfield on the way home for a day or two and then home for 3 weeks to hang out with various people from P-town to Bloom-town (it's cool because it kind of sounds like boomtown). I anticipate awesome sober conversation with a sprinkling of "forget how to love" drunken conversation.

Tim and I had two lovely excursions to a junkyard in Madison, IL the past two days. It all started when Tim and I had some things to do in town. Tim drove and we eventually got into a "Traffic" accident. The cause of this "Traffic" accident can only be explained in person to fully appreciate the depth of the accident. And also for you to completely grasp the hilarity of the story. Regardless, as a result if this "Traffic" accident, Tim had to find a junkyard to take care of the impending repercussions from the accident. The closest one he finds is about half hour away from campus in Madison, IL. So, the next day Tim and I set off for the junkyard hoping to get there before they close. For reasons that you may have been able to conclude earlier in the story, I had to drive. Mapquest directions in hand, we set off for Speedway Junkyard.

In route to Madison, we had to go through Granite City, one of the most blue collar towns in all of America. I say blue collar as not to separate myself from the social stigma but as to truly describe the town. The streets, buildings, and cars were lined with the dust from the local steel mill. The automobiles were 70% trucks to 30% cars. Everyone in town had that weathered look on their face as to show they earned everything they had. After realizing that Mapquest had no idea where Speedway Junkyard was, we stopped and asked. We were close. Appropriately, Speedway Junkyard is right across the street from Gateway Speedway. To our dismay, we arrived 5 minutes to late to get what we needed. But then the seemingly fun part begins.

Tim and I decide, or rather I decide since I was driving that we will take a different route back to campus to hit the interstate. I saw a sign for the interstate so it's not like I was trying to find a needle in a haystack. We hit some backroads to come upon a train crossing the road. Being in the middle of nowhere, being quite frustrated, we decide to exit the car while waiting for the train to pass and have a cigarette. As soon as we light up, the train ends. It had 4 locomotives, for like a 20 car train. Retarded we thought. But fuck em, we decided to still stand in the middle of the road and finish our smokes. A few seconds later a proverbial "bat out of hell" comes flying around the icy corner brazing my car, which is fully in it's own lane, just stopped. As I glanced at the driver I saw a women that instantly reminded me of "You got girls?!... Yeah, we do... No, you ain't!" Haha. We progress down the backroad to find a bridge with at least a quarter mile gap in it. And it's not like it was a new bridge that hasn't been finished yet, no, it was an old, jenky railroad bridge with absolutely no sign of a quarter mile of it. Soon after, we see a sign for the Madison Bridge with an ominous "Closed" sign over it. We then entered Brooklyn, IL. Even in the snowy mid-afternoon, the african american citizens of Brooklyn, IL walk the streets and collect at the city corners. They all gave the stare a lion would give a herd of elk at my car. After I made sure the doors were locked and I told Tim to tell my mother I loved her, I made a speedy exit of Brooklyn. Soon to our disgust, we see a sign for exotic dancers at Fantasyland. I couldn't believe there was more than one. The sight of a dirty little exotic dancing shack was a little too much at that point. Soon thereafter, there was the access road to the interstate and Tim and I fled to safety.

Today, we finally made it to the junkyard. It may be the biggest junkyard I have ever seen. After paying $1 admission, we find that what Tim wants is in the very back of the yard. Walking through the junkyard I was suddenly engulfed with the feeling of walking through a garden of lost souls. It was rather disheartening. But to no avail, we found what we had come for and I hope Tim can fix his mess without us having to go back.

Now it is on to study for finals. Hopefully the end of the academic season treats everyone well. Here's to hoping.