Thinking of Thunder

But not the aural variety that has proved so plentiful lately here in Dallas. I'm contemplating a Thunder of a different kind.

In spring I visited Beloit College; a Richland prof had promoted me there and everyone was friendly, but the school didn't fit. Wheaton College sent me two "you're good enough for us but so many others are better than you" letters relegating me to their admissions waiting list (odds: not so good). I began to commit my mind and heart to the University of Texas, and two Fridays ago I spent the day as a Longhorn: driving to Austin in the morn, meeting with advisers and breaking the UT experience into palatable pieces, and rockin' back to Dallas with Jack and Meg White and Josh Homme in the eventime. I had left before the mailman (or "person person" as the Kuceras used to say) could deliver my missives and returned after dark.

I pulled into my driveway, unloaded my mailbox, walked inside. I found a larger than average piece from Wheaton, and as I turned it over, I could read its bold message through the translucent envelope. "Welcome to Wheaton."

All I wanted to do since I started the transfer process was to attend Wheaton. So many benefits: leave Mexas, return to midwestern culture, nearness to friends and family in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Des Moines; academic giants professoring the classes, Christian instruction to nourish my skeptic's heart and foggy mind; a local Giordano's to nourish my grateful digestive system. But too many quasi-rejections later I had given up on every bit of it and focused on the great city of Austin and its 4 1/2-star academic institution. Now I have an unbelievably tough decision to make--be a Longhorn or join the Thunder--and the blessing of having to choose between two top notch schools.

I head to Wheaton on Friday to check it out.