Day six: Saturday, December 16, 2006. 

Hard work done today and more to come. The packing looks a bit daunting but it is slowly coming under control.  I can't say this often enough -- thank you to the friends who stopped by today to drive carloads of stuff to storage and helped lift the heavy stuff into my car for trips to the recycle center.  Seeing you has a strange double-edge to it.  On the one hand it is good to see my friends and to remember there are plenty of people who care about me around here. And that helps make this a bit less traumatizing. On the other hand (must be the left -- the sinister side -- get it Journalism students?) seeing friends adds to the un-real sense of "this can't be happening."

As I left school last night and walked toward my car, the church bells in Vilseck started ringing.  Must have been 6 p.m., anyway, I couldn't help but think there was a solemnity to the tone. Hemmingway whispering in my ear, "it tolls for thee."