Back Home Again in Indiana



I-65 northbound over the Ohio River to Indiana



As John and I began to make plans to head back to Indiana for his fall semester “indentured service”, I thought it would be fun to write a blog about my quirky glimpses of life in Indiana.  Having lived in South Florida since 2005, the differences between the two states couldn't be more vast.   Little did I know how difficult it would be to write such a public diary and I hope this effort isn't too boring or in any way offensive.  Anyway, we arrived about a month ago, and my mantra during the first couple weeks was “it could be worse”.   Not that life is terrible here, but we both enjoy Florida so much more.   






Corncob canyon Benton county, Indiana



So, here’s a brief biased view of Indiana.  John and I moved to West Lafayette in August 1975 from Columbus Ohio.  It was a big transition to smaller city surrounded by corn, soybeans, pig farms and 60 miles from the nearest city, Indianapolis.  In reference to West Lafayette, I always heard, “it’s a great place to raise a family” which was confirmed by trips to the grocery and finding items sold in “family size”.  It’s also a friendly town; most people wave, say “hello”.   Shortly after arriving, a woman apologized to me for parking crooked!!   Does this ever happen in South Florida?  But “across the river” in Lafayette is a world different from the college community of the West Side.  It’s not uncommon to hear locals struggle to conjugate the verb “to see”.  We hear a lot of “I seen”, “you seen”, and “we seen”.   But again, nice, friendly people as long as one “blends”, if you catch my drift.  I was fortunate to have had a 30-year full-time paying “gig” at Purdue; otherwise I might have gone insane.   

Several have asked, “What can you do for fun in Lafayette”?   There are occasional events at Purdue and in greater Lafayette; for the most part, we’ve “been there, done that” and is part of our past. But if you enjoy hunting, fishing (bass, catfish), ‘shroomin, motorcycle riding, “covered bridge” festivals, quilting, oh and EATING PIE  you might love it here. 

One of our pastimes turned business has been going to auctions looking for collectible books for our Ebay hobby.   Rather than try to put into words what a rural auction is like, well, its probably best just to check out  a picture; but yeah, you can almost hear banjos playing!!