On the long boring stretch driving through Michigan, one road sign caught my attention and brought back some memories.
A long time ago, in my exchange year in Uppsala, I went up to the deep north of Sweden to visit the ice hotel. I made the return trip by train, which from Kiruna to Uppsala takes about 16 hours of travel.
The following week, my friend Giuliano did the same trip with a couple of other friends. On the way back though, he forced the entire group to make a lengthy detour and head to the coast for a quick stop in the city of Luleå. The only reason was that he thought the name of the city sounded funny.
Giuliano was a bit crazy that way, he had the ingenuity and the talent for seeing how important all these small silly things are in making our time on this planet a bit more special and unique.
I am sure Giuliano would have found this trip I am making a bit crazy, he would have probably loved to come along (particularly for the opportunity to sample so many new interesting culinary specialties along the way). I am sure that if he had been with me, he would have made me turn and stop in Kalamazoo. Just because the name is funny.
I am grateful for all the silly things that every now and then remind me of him.