Recluse

I just realized how shocked you must be about what I haven't done in Lawrence in three years.

You've never eaten Downtown on a Saturday night? You've never gone shopping Downtown? You've been at KU for three years and NOW you want to visit the Visitor's Center?

Well, let me address my reclusiveness.

I've never eaten Downtown on a Saturday night because 1) I spend nearly every other weekend in Lenexa with Jedsen; 2) Jedsen and I don't drink and don't go out at night; 3) Jedsen and I are poor; 4) Jedsen and I are not big fans of crowded places, and Mass Street makes us nervous when it's busy.

How have I never gone shopping Downtown? Well, let me clarify. I strolled Mass Street back in March 2005 when Jedsen and I came up here for a night and a concert. Then, I was a tourist. Now that I live here, I still feel like a tourist on Mass Street for some reason. Yes, I've even worked on Mass for the entire time I've been here, but I come and I go. I've gone to specific stores on Mass for specific reasons, but I've never treated Mass St has a mall and just browsed. Part of that, again, goes back to Jedsen and his dislike for the street. I don't really argue. But that doesn't mean I want to shop it--I mean shop it--at least once.

As for the Visitor's Center, though it's on Iowa and very accessible, I didn't know I should go to it until about a year ago when someone said it was amazing. But, then, I've been pretty busy being reclusive and writing my thesis this past year.

Things just haven't gotten done.

But Jedsen and I took a ride last weekend. A ride to nowhere and anywhere, south and east of Lawrence, out in the hills, the green. We drove and tried to get lost in the county, but my sense of direction is too good. As we approached Highway 59, we noticed a park: Wells Overlook Park. So we went. What do you know? There's an overlook, a structure three stories high with views at every level. We saw Lawrence and the surrounding miles to the south, east, west. Perspective. That's where I live. Look at all that West Lawrence that we don't even know. It's new, and it reminds us of Johnson County. We only know Iowa, 23rd St East of Iowa, 9th Street East of Iowa, and portions of Mass St. I know my L of home to school and home to work. I don't know Lawrence.

So I'll try to explore some more in these last months, and I'll make it a goal to know my new town and to let it know me.