Winds from the NNW at 25 mph (40 kph), with frighteningly random higher gusts. As the highway curved, they sped us along, they stopped us too, and often they nearly pushed us off the road.
Minnesota farmsteads with their houses and outbuildings don’t look as industrial as some farther west.This wouldn’t be out of place in the Northeast.
We are unacquainted with these beautiful grasses from last autumn. Are they remnants of prairie flora?
The dark line is railroad tracks.We planned to stop 71 miles from Glenwood, in Annandale. Wind conditions convinced us to continue another 15 miles to Buffalo.Coach is a tricyclist and Buffalonian. He and Jeffrey had an intelligent discussion about the pros and cons of road cycles. He wants to put some cyclist friends in touch with Jeffrey. He said, “You know this stuff; you’ve lived it.”Mona is a proud American from Mumbai. She talked of the damage loneliness does to individuals and to society. Her dear friend wants to visit from India this summer to see our beautiful country, spend some money, and make Mona happy. The U.S. consulate has not granted the friend a visitor visa and does not respond to inquiries. Mona said that to delay is to deny: when the friend marries soon, a visa won’t matter; the new husband’s family will not let her come.
Mona’s plight is not trivial. We understand her upset. Congressional dysfunction makes our laws a mess, so the administration of them is a mess.
“What laws are a mess?”, you ask.
Example: American citizens who petitioned on or after September 15, 2005—more than 17 ½ years ago—for immigrant visas for their siblings in India, still are waiting for the visa issuance process to begin.
Maybe we should require, and withhold, a visa for that cold high wind from Canada. We bet some in Congress—the ones who legislate without regard to human nature and Mother Nature—are willing to give that a try.
We unintentionally startled this (blurry) bird of prey into doing its thing. When it comes to uniting families and friends, we should make it easier for humans to do theirs.
Ride for Human Rights 