fort wayne...

found myself spending a month, last week, in fort wayne, indiana, the result of being enjoined as an expert witness in a federal trial there...
but, unfortunately, there is no there, there...
while supposedly the second largest city in the state, it is an unusually vacuous place, devoid of anything of interest - well, johnny appleseed is buried there, so that must count for something, right???
and amazingly enough, no starbucks in the downtown area at all (not that that in itself is important, but it is a clear indicator of the lack of progress inherent in the area - even our little coastal town of 7000 population has a starbucks)...
there were, however, an inordinate amount of vacuum cleaner and shoe repair shops, which are almost extinct in california, and add to that, there was no live theatre that weekend, in the whole town - and, more insult to injury, everyone smokes there, in restaurants, stores, everywhere, no rules or concerns about second-hand smoke - big tobacco must love this town/state...
these people will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, or not...
and the weather??? - don't get me started - it was snowing in the last week of april - and when it's not snowing, it's overcast and raining - what is it about spring that is so hard to understand???
the town, geographically, is tucked in the northeast corner of the state, close to both the ohio and michigan borders - this is amish country and those one-horse buggies can still be spotted cruising along the country roads (they can move along with surprising velocity!!!)
our local attorney shared an appropriate tidbit regarding a magazine that had recently designated fort wayne as the dumbest city in america, based on some criteria including sat scores, number of college degrees, etc...
while there was nothing apparent to validate that notion, there was also nothing to invalidate it - instead, considering it has no soul, it might better be honored as the dullest city in america...
other than testifying at the trial, the only high point was an excellent restaurant, the oyster bar, dating back to 1888, which served superb dinners and generous drinks, which becomes even more important if you ever find yourself stuck in this cultural backwater...
there are no pictures to post only because there were no subjects worthy of photo-documentation...

henri...

henri the heron has been hanging around the point lately, snagging fish and gophers equally (a diet to envy??? I think not!!!) with stealthy efficiency - this is no vegetarian - and this skinny little guy can really put it away - managed a shot of him with telephoto lens the other day - hard to get close to him as he is very edgy and his sight and hearing are nothing short of remarkable - and he's competing with the cat for gopher tidbits which doesn't earn him a lot compassion from
mr zeus...