Morning on Lake Mendota

Madison Wisconsin is prepared for wee-hour arrivals. Taxis were lined up at the curb by the time the luggage carousels were spitting out the first of the bags. The lobby doors at the Edgewater Hotel are locked by 12:30 AM, and I wrangled my luggage in just as they were getting ready to lock things down.

The Edgewater is a 1948 luxury hotel with quirky narrow hallways and art deco details that have not quite been covered over by modernization. I lifted the windows open in the dark and heard water lapping. I couldn't wait until morning to see where I'd landed.

My awakening in Madison was two-fold: as I waited at the windows to see what the sun would illuminate, I found myself on the shore of a lake with a pier just below. Sail boats, the university rowing teams, and fishermen passed back and forth outside my window as I prepared for the Rural Sociological Society Conference. At the conference I met a number of professors from universities across the country who connected me with others working in my field. Several were willing to provide feedback on connecting our feedstock production biotechnology work to rural communities.

I think I have found my tribe.