Boxcar
Bloomington
2011
After my reading at Boxcar Books, Ross Gay and I remembered Don Belton who had been murdered two years before, the murderer’s conviction pending. I met Don when we both taught a semester at Warren Wilson. Later, I arranged for him to teach a term in Tuscaloosa. He hired a national van line to move his books, furniture, and clothes to Alabama. I told Ross about the move. The van arrived before Don did. I supervised the unloading at university-owned house. Fort Wayne is the headquarters of North American Van Lines. I grew up thinking it was The City of Blue Trucks. There were always blue trucks cycling through, packed with households looking to land. Indiana, the Crossroads of America. Don shipped a lot even though he had no permanent home then. Don arrived a few days later. I met him on the edge of town so he wouldn’t get lost finding his way home. Don had found a home in Bloomington, Ross said. His books, papers, ephemera are all now stored in the Lilly Library. Then, Ross told me about the trees he was going to plant when the weather turned colder.