Jerome Travel Grant

I was notified last week that I have received a Jerome Travel Grant to research the last years of Camilla Hall, a Minnesota native who was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s. This research will take me to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she spent the last three years of her life before she was killed in a May 1974 shootout with police.

I plan to go out there for a couple of weeks in July.

Camilla was the subject of my master's thesis and I've always wanted to pursue it as a book project. Her story really is captivating. Her father was a Lutheran pastor and professor, she was active in anti-war protests in the 1960s and by the time she moved to California, she had come out as a lesbian. It appears she was "sucked into" the SLA through her lover, Patricia Soltysik. The dynamics of their relationship are still rather mysterious and likely will always have an air of mystery since Pat was killed in the shootout, too. Everyone who knew Camilla best is dead, which poses a challenge for me. But I'll see what I can find out in California.

Commuting by bicycle

Whoo-hoo! I commuted into Mankato by bicycle for the first time. I don't know what took me so long. It turned out to be surprisingly easy. It's only 12 miles to MSU; it took me about 50 minutes. By car it's at least 15 miles and takes me 20 minutes. When driving, from house to the moment I walk into my MSU office, it takes 30 minutes. By bike I can drive right to my building. So it's only taking me another 20 minutes to bike (but factor in 5-10 minutes to clean up, change clothes, etc.).

My goal is to do this at least once a week. I really want to continue it into the fall semester when I start teaching. It might get a little more complicated in taking a change of clothes, having papers/books, not wanting to look like crap, etc. But I think with some advanced planning I can do it.

So I saved 25 miles on my car today, 25 miles of gas. Yay!

Ace Frehley, baby!

Ace Frehley. First Ave. May 8. Flaming guitar and all. (photo not from First Ave show -- from May 2007, taken by Jerrod Vrazel of zrock.com).

I find it slightly disturbing that I've seen Ace perform more than I've seen Morrissey (six to four). If you would have told me this 15 years ago, I would have collapsed on the floor laughing. But the nice thing about being married to your opposite is that you're exposed to things you would never think of doing.

I also find it slightly disturbing that I knew the words to most of the songs.

But the show cements the fact that I really actually like Ace Frehley songs.

New issue of Brevity

The new issue of Brevity is available on the Web here. I'm such a fan. Short, sweet pieces that go down smoothly. Yet the satisfaction is inversely proportionate to their size.

Coming up for air

Whew -- my three online classes are finally finished! There were a couple of times in the past few weeks where I thought they'd sink me. I could not wait for the light at the end of the tunnel that was early May.

I have a couple of work projects going on, but the good news is that I should be able to dive into the revision process for the memoir.

I've been pecking away at it, a half-hour or an hour each morning for the past several weeks. Checking in with the other nonfiction writers from the Loft Mentorship program and my writing group has been a HUGE help. It's nice to know that I have to report to someone. It's not like there's a punishment if I don't write anything, but I like to be able to say I wrote 500 words or 800 words or worked on hour on revision.

So I think I have the first two chapters in place. Now I need to think about what chapter should be the logical next step.