Michiana

I am in South Bend, Indiana. It's good to be back in the old law school neighborhood. But I was sad to see that they've changed some things since I've been gone. Some houses were demolished to make "improvements" in a road, and the intersection is ... different. There's a little median just north of the intersection, and the road curves now. It was just a normal two-lane road before. I saw that a bunch of trees have been cut down for another road. It reminded me of that scene out of Lord of the Rings when all the trees were being destroyed by the Orcs.

The locals call this region "Michiana". South Bend is about eleven miles south of the Michigan border. One cannot purchase alchohol on Sundays in Indiana, so it's common to drive up to Michigan for a case of beer. One must also be careful about the change in time zone; this part of Indiana doesn't switch to daylight savings time. So if you're catching a movie or a play in Michigan, you have to make sure to clarify the time zone. One time we drove about 30-40 miles to an artsy cinema in Michigan, and when we got there, the movie was half over. The lady at the counter said "Oh, you guys must've come from Indiana. It started at 7:00 Michigan time."

I would not want to live in South Bend permanently, but I am glad to be here now. My time is my own, and I am being fairly productive. There are lots of good places to take walks. And I get to visit stores, restaurants, cafes I haven't been to in a while. I realized I've missed Michiana.