Do you know what it’s like to have your child get rejected for admission at the college he’s dreamed of going to since he was 8, where his heroes and mentors studied, and whose online courses he’s taken, and whose professors he’s worked with — and to have the horrible knowledge that it is all…
Author: cjbickford
A Summer of East Coast Travel Part I (May and June)
I have just spent my second summer in Tennessee, this one travelling up and down and through the East Coast. Last year, I resolved to stay put in order to become acquainted with my new place. This year, almost as soon as our daughter graduated middle school, we took to the road. Our first stop…
Social Justice Kills Womens’ Opportunities
I’m a volunteer firefighter in my county, and a woman. Yesterday, I was in training to learn how to decontaminate people and hazmat technicians after they’ve been in a “hot” zone. Part of the process includes getting suited up in a chemical suit which has to be taped up around the firefighter’s respirator mask, the…
You’re In The South Now
We’ve now been living in Tennessee for just over a year, and it’s beginning to feel more like home. I may be redundant, but it is still disorienting that we now drive to the family (in Columbus, Ohio and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) which used to fly out to see us, and I’m no longer busting out…
Settlin’ in Tennessee and Thereabouts
We’ve been living in Tennessee for almost a year now. Just this summer, I’ve gone ziplining through the woods at Fontanel, saw Foster the People at the legendary Ryman Auditorium, ate a chocolate covered cricket at the county fair, done stand up paddleboarding, and, oh, experienced a total eclipse. There’s more to tell than I…
Hanging out with Charlie Daniels in the Cheese Aisle
We have unpacked one 16 foot POD and two smaller 7 foot PODS, so our house isn’t completely bare on the inside. It’s chaotic as we continue to unpack (and wait for new carpet in the bonus room/Pete’s new office), but that’s going to be the case for a while. Meanwhile, I’m getting to know…
Nearly Executed by Hot Chicken
I have now lived in Tennessee for almost a month, but my mind continues to be blown every day. I went to a local Toastmasters meeting yesterday. My former group was an Improv Toastmasters group, and a more experienced member warned me that other groups can be much more formal, and will actually fine…
Tennessee: An Alternate Reality
I knew Tennessee would be different from California, but only now am I beginning to think I am in an alternate reality. When it comes to lifestyle, I love this place. Less than a mile from my house, there is a small parking lot with free access to the Harpeth River, so I could…
Musical Middle School, Infamy and Johnny Cash
Note this post was originally written on October 28. Our realtor texted us to ask how our travel was going after we’d wired our money to the title company. Knowing she was from Kentucky, I told her we’d be going through her home state, forgetting what I was implicitly demanding by the rules of Southern…
Gettysburg Day 1
We arrived in Gettysburg Pennsylvania near midnight, but we have a free and very comfortable place to stay with Peter’s parents for the next few days. In the morning, we asked the sellers of the house we like to fix stuff. In the afternoon, Peter and I went into “downtown” Gettysburg. We saw zombie Abraham…