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10 December 98 Thursday

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Some days I really enjoy being a grownup. Like yesterday. I had no obligations, the whole day to myself. I went into Providence, poked around in the art store over back of Chestnut Street, then poked around in the glass studio across the way. After that, I went downtown and looked at the new ice rink, drove by Providence Place Mall to see how that was coming, then stopped in at the train station to get an Amtrak schedule and copy down the inscription engraved around the circumference of the granite circle inlay on the floor of the rotunda-- something I've been meaning to do ever since the day I tried to tell someone about the neat inscription and couldn't remember for the life of me what it was. ("For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson) It's a very nice train station, situated at the foot of the State Capitol building, overlooking the new downtown. If I'd wanted, I could've parked my Jeep in the Convention Center lot, whipped out a plastic money gun (that's a credit card) and bought myself a ticket for-- Boston, Montreal, New York City, Washington DC, Colonial Williamsburg, or-- anywhere. I can do that. I'm, a grownup and I'm not answerable to anyone but myself... and my creditors, all of whom would like nothing better than for me to be spending money. It's a pleasant thought... One of these days I may just do it... In fact, if I take my birth certificate with me next time, and I go over to the Post Office, I can put in an application for a passport... I can be back by Tuesday. They'll never even miss me.