We returned to Batavia.  Is there any better way to gain a sense of a place than to move around observing what there is to see?  We identified eight homes that seemed suitable to our needs.  We critically looked at each of them as well as the surrounding neighborhoods.  I am satisfied that we could live in Batavia.  It will be a new start for us.  But why not?

Like a plant that has become root-bound, a bigger pot is called for.

Another environment, a different environment close to the Fox River.  The river alone should provide a connection to the land and to the history of this place.  Batavia contains remains of the history of those who settled before us, past generations. I can see the old factories that remain along the river, bones of the past.

Also the vibrant, well rooted artist community holds promise of finding others with whom to learn and grow.  Openness is what creates a future for all of us.  There is no other way.  Now it is our art that is the light that opposes the miasma of racism, of sexism, of neo-colonialism, of the violence that is being conjured from human nature.

The past and the present; “The road is long, with many a winding turn,” to quote from an old lyric line.  I cannot see what lies ahead, but we cannot but press forward.

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As an aside, but important nevertheless Grammy award-winning song-writer, vocalist Jackie DeShannon grew up in Batavia.