I’m Independence, Kansas, in the middle of the country, and if you’ve been following the weather news, you know that parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri have been taking the brunt of the storms, including flooding and tornadoes.  Somehow Independence has been able to avoid the worst of it.  Some say it’s because of the geography and confluence of two rivers; others say there’s an ancient Native American legend that involves protection from the spirits.  Whatever it is, we’ve been on the edge of the storms and very grateful.

The Inge Festival got off to a good start with readings of new plays and then a reading by our honoree, Octavio Solis from his collection of short stories, “Retablos,” about growing up along the border.

Today is my big day: the presentation of my paper at the scholars conference tilted “The Road to Recovery: The Depiction of Addiction and Treatment in ‘Come Back, Little Sheba.'”  It’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser, assuming we get a crowd.

I took some photos of the picture gallery in the Fine Arts building.  The first is the permanent display of posters from past Inge Festivals and the honorees.

In another hall they have put up pictures of all the special guests at this year’s festival.  You may recognize one.

That’s it for now.