I realize now that I haven't posted a picture of my usual set-up. The wires run between each camera and either my cigarette lighter or a portable battery pack, keeping everything nicely juiced up and ready to record. If you're wondering how I haven't been pulled over yet, so am I. 

Today was blustery, to put it mildly. I lost my cap (part of the uniform) almost immediately after leaving the hotel, barely able to stand up straight. As I drove, gusts would blow dry husks across the road. I saw literal tumble weed, having forgotten those actually exist outside cartoons. The wind made sure I kept both hands on the steering wheel, especially when I passed oncoming trucks. A calm would fall when driving by tree lanes I now realized were planted for this very reason, and that calm would go when those trees were parted by roads. Dust from dead fields filled the air and I couldn't have asked for a better farewell. 

I'll think about what this all means another day. For now, all I know is I enjoyed the drive. 

Marco Chimienti
29.11.17

P.S. I was going to end this post on a worried note, having yet to receive a call back from Beth about her mom. But of course, as I was making dinner, on the phone with Starr, I get the call. My hands full and my beef burning, I couldn't react quickly enough to record our conversation. Basically, we arrange to meet sometime tomorrow at the house. She tells me that everything her mother knows about the tower was given to her second hand by her late husband, Mr. Brown, who owned the farm she now lives in. Beth also tells me that she's dug up a flier from 1964 announcing the completion of the tower, which she'll show me at the farm. Lastly, as if that wasn't enough, she tells me that she's been trying to get in touch with a man who used to change those dreaded light bulbs on the tower, but that she's been unsuccessful. I express my unending gratitude for all that she's done, for going out of her way, and she response with a simple, "Oooh, research is fun. I got the time."

It is fun, isn't it? 

I'm meeting Lyle at 10 am, and Beth sometime after. I'll be spending the whole day at the tower, taking it all in one last time. 

P.P.S. During that conversation with Starr, she mentions how her coworker returned from Austin, Texas, talking about their Moonlight Towers (massive, ominous beacons popular in the 1800's as a way to effectively light up whole neighborhoods). Right up my alley. I'll have to look into those.