Fairfield 15: Poems, Pens, and Public Charging

In November 2017 I was ready to return to Fairfield, Iowa, and MUM (Maharishi University of Management) for extended meditation time, especially after a health surprise since my last visit. Fortunately, the schedule I had picked allowed me to attend a multi-performer event at Revelations Café immediately on arrival. I was especially interested to hear Bill Graeser, my favorite poet.

Bill frequently recites from memory.

There were other talents on display, including story-telling and music.

Then I drove down to the Men's Peace Palace,

and moved into my uncluttered but comfortable room.

With en-suite bathroom.

The ground-floor lobby.

The incoming Comp Pro class had its group photo taken at the new amphitheater.

Nearby was an odd work that reminded me of an oversized "Tower of Hanoi" puzzle.

But who could lift those weights?

Other campus upgrades had happened in the last 7½ months, such as the new decking on the footbridge over Crow Creek.

A few yards further on benches had popped up along the path.

Here's a full moon night from the steps of the Student Union.

Just north of campus construction of townhomes and cottages had continued.

The first two ranks of townhomes were completed and fully occupied.

On the Fairfield town square many building facades had been refreshed,

or were in the process of being refreshed.

Faux windows on the top floor of the Elks building.

This work was partially paid for by grants, and partially by the building owners. Some owners apparently weren't interested.

Well, it's hard to get 100% participation in anything.

Storefront changes in downtown seem inevitable with every visit. The lobby of the Fairfield Inn had been converted to a retail outlet for the Tokyo Pen Shop, in business since 2008.

 I browsed here twice and bought a pen, a marker, and a small tin of pig-shaped paper clips.

 (Spoiler alert: the retail shop was vacated when I returned in March 2018, but the online business is still thriving.) Next door a game store had been replaced with a by-appointment tattoo parlor.

Another downtown discovery was the Asian Pho Bistro. The exterior can be easy to overlook,

 but the interior is clean and well-decorated, the service is friendly,

and the Thai and Vietnamese cuisine is top-notch. Every chef's pad khee mao is different, and theirs is excellent. There is a choice of proteins; I selected tofu.

The Bistro had been recommended to me by Tom Hall, the TM teacher whose wife Jill, also a TM teacher, had instructed me in the technique back in the early '70s. Here we're noshing in the Student Union.

At this time of year walking to the Men's Dome for the morning group meditation was in itself a sky and color meditation.

Fall foliage and the Dome, illuminated.

There were, of course, also foggy/frosty mornings.

The Jefferson County Loop trail was a major walking goal for me. The sections between the campus and Chautauqua Park I had been on many times before, a couple other sections just once, and many sections not at all. I added some of these on this visit, but not all. This merits its own future blog post.

I've been interested in electric cars -- hasn't Tesla shaken things up! -- and checked out the three Level 2 (240 volt, AC current) charging stations in town that I know of. One is on the MUM campus. I've seen a Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and BMW i3 charging here.

Another is behind the Kum & Go gas station and convenience store.

And the third is at the gas station/convenience store island in front of the huge Hy-Vee parking lot.

I also spotted that white Volt here.

At the Unity Gallery, inside the MUM library, there was an art exhibit. I was particularly intrigued by the small sculptures I nicknamed "twisty art."

Perhaps some kind of clay or polymer that can be manipulated before hardening?

I wandered through a lot of territory during this visit. MUM and Fairfield continued to evolve in 2017.