Davenportant discoveries

Though we had spent the previous day at school, this day taught me quite a bit, too.

Lesson 1:
America is hot.
Like, deadly hot. Humid and oppressive and thank God for air conditioning. This day was 38 degrees with the humidex, which for us was a special kind of torture. Being outside was unpleasant and even vaguely frightening as our two-minute hike up a hill made me feel ill. I know it was just another day for the initiated, though, because most of the Palmer students were walking around suited up in their clinic gear (business casual clothes with white jackets over top) like nothing was the matter. I suppose it's adjustable to-able, because Jo had better heat survival skills than H and I did.

Lesson 2:
Small communities can be quite fun.
H and I discovered some of the touristy things Davenport has to offer on our trips downtown, like
-Riverboat casinos on the mighty mighty Mississippi:

-The outdoor bandshell and monument to Jazz musician Bix Biederbecke:

-The modern skybridge which leads from downtown to the river which, for a modern touristy grab, was actually pretty cool:
(it lights up in rainbow colours at night, which is a bit much)

-The pretty historic buildings and the impressive modern museum building:

We also benefitted from the fact that in small communities, like-minded individuals can often find themselves more easily, and gravitate together. We visited the natural foods store with the BEST delicious whole-food treats ever, and witnessed a pretty continual flow of people who were obviously grateful for this institution in their community. Of course, a chiropractic college town has a disproportionately high number of holistic types, so this store could thrive more easily.

Lesson 3:
Even when you don't want to chat with, say, the crazy owner of the antiques store, you might as well.
The immense antiques store stretching through three (?) buildings was quite an experience. Room after room full of treasures, from printer's typesetting blocks to a spinning wheel to a carousel horse, sucked us in for a good couple of hours (over two visits). And when we finally selected our treasures to buy, the overly talkative, generously proportioned man in the unfortunate v-necked t-shirt talked our ears off about the weather, told dirty jokes, and finally got to dishing the good stuff: turns out he was a draft dodger and lived in Ottawa, just around the corner from where H lives now!

Lesson 4:
You can live until you're 25 and not know you have a spine disorder.
Hey, doctors, how come you never noticed that my spine is crooked? Fortunately, it seems that Scoliosis doesn't cause any problems unless the angles are more acute. My wavy backbone hasn't caused any harm that I know of, but I'm sure anxious to see how muscle re-education can begin to correct it. Maybe I'll gain some height!
Anyway, we returned to the Palmer clinic for our adjustments (and to log some clinic hours). Thanks, Dr. Jo!

Lesson 5:
You should see silly high school movies once in a while.
They might have Rufio in them.