WIND FARM

I'm headed way up north today, near the Wisconsin border.

I'm very embarrassed about a dreadful mistake I made yesterday. I went to my office yesterday evening (quite late) to start getting my evaluation book and data ready for the trip today and discovered that my hotel reservation was scheduled for last night. By that time, I'd already missed late check in by several hours.

In my head, I thought I was scheduled to travel today and evaluate tomorrow. But no, I was scheduled to travel on Sunday and evaluate today. Routinely, I do everything I can to avoid traveling on Sunday. Sunday has always been a family day and I attempt to keep it as such. But, I made an error and told Catherine to schedule it for today. I went back and checked the email to see who made the error. It was me in big bold black email. It was an issue of me assuming that Catherine could read my mind and know I was making a mistake.

This sounds like a simple problem, but it is not. Not only will they be charged for a hotel room I didn't use, but we'll have to contact the prison to explain to them that I will be there tomorrow for the evaluation not today. This is a major inconvenience for them. Further, Catherine will have to get a second hotel night approved from the travel office. It's just a lot more work for poor Catherine (already significantly overworked) and a lot of confusion for the DOC. I'll end up paying out of pocket for the night missed at the hotel. The problem will be that all the dates will be confused.

Just a total mess and I'll look like a disorganized fool. But, there's nothing to do but admit the error and go on. Fortunately, I have been relatively good about not making errors at work (especially not stupid ones like this one). Hopefully, they will understand and forgive me.

I'm actually looking forward to the trip. This specific prison is one I enjoy going to. I like the little town, I like the hotel, I like the prison. It's Ronald Reagan's boyhood home town and the whole town has that feel of a quieter, friendlier, safer time to it.

It's a long long drive, but there is a gigantic windfarm stretching over many acres along the highway just before the town. The gigantic windmills going swoosh, swoosh, swoosh are such a soothing, pleasant, meditative, comforting sight. When they first come into sight, it's like an oasis opening up in the distance. I look forward to seeing them each trip and my heart always soars a bit every time I see them. Of course, there is no noxious smell of fire and oil like the smell of the awkward skeletons of oil rigs that I often have to pass in other parts of the state.

I often wonder why the citizenary doesn't embrace more and more wind farms. It's such a simple, intelligent solution to some of our major problems. And, the farmers can plant their crops remarkably close to the bottom of the windmills. The windmills reduce crop production by so little. But, the local papers are filled with articles about how the presence of the windmills cause children in the community brain damage. It's a scare tactic that has taken hold in that community. Now, it makes no logical scientific sense, but sometimes in the countryside logical scientific sense is totally ignored. Our lives could be so much better if we would simply embrace and invest in the power of the wind and the sun. But, of course, we would have to stop clinging to the old ways. Even more, the very rich oil barons would have to relinquish part of their control and windfall profits.