Complex Numbers

Athens

As a reminder, I'm traveling and thus my blog entries may be delayed or skipped.

Yesterday, I drove to Athens.

No, not the one in Greece, obviously, or the one in Georgia (the state), but the one in Ohio.

I've been here before, but that time I stayed at the edge of town and didn't really see much of it. Today I drove and walked around a good bit of Athans.

I thought I lived in a quirky college town. Well, okay, I do live in a quirky college town (look, that unpleasantness a couple of years ago was caused by tourists trucked in from out of state), but Athens makes Charlottesville seem normal.

Don't ask me to explain that, though. Yes, I know; I'm a writer and so I should be able to put it into words. But there are three breweries and one brewpub in Athens, and consequently, I'm hung over. So don't expect any kind of eloquence from me today. Perhaps another time, if I remember any of the details.

For my first trip out of state in two years, it wasn't bad. I expected everyone in West Virginia to pretend like there isn't, and never was, a pandemic, and behold, everyone I saw in West Virginia acted like there isn't and never was a pandemic. Pretty state, but goddamn it's infested with idiots.

I mean, obviously there are idiots everywhere, but most states don't make it a condition for residence. I even saw a bunch of Confederate flags

Yes, I know the flag is actually the battle flag of the Confederacy, but that's what we call it now so everyone knows what I'm talking about

there, thus proving that no one bothers to learn history anymore either.

I should also note that the mountain ranges in WV generally run southwest to northeast (or vice-versa). Hence there aren't too many routes one can take driving northwest. Even interstates zigzag around that state, and like I said, I'm avoiding those. So it was one winding mountain road after another for me today. I like it that way. Like I said, nice scenery there.

Note: if you feel compelled to sneer at what we in the East call mountains, feel free to refrain. Yes, I know what we call "mountains" are barely even speed bumps. They're still a pain to drive across.