The Fly Story

Int: So, Jim and Julianna, tell us a little about your week - that is, week 4 in Hoosier Town. It's now been a month since you moved here. Any highlights?



Jim: Successfully swatting a massive fly in our bedroom, definitely. Two nights ago it was circling around our room and buzzing really loudly. Initially I tried to kill it with a rolled up magazine but it was evading me and I saw I had no chance of making contact.

Int: Oh really? So then what?

Jim: Well I upgraded my weaponry to a large cloth bag (the first thing I grabbed off a hook on the wall). Very "swing-able" and much wider than a magazine.

Jul: It was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever seen. Flailing and grunting with the effort but then collapsing with laughter because it was so futile.

Jim: I almost threw my arm out of socket but THEN! Suddenly I made contact with a sound swipe. But unfortunately I had swung towards my wife and the fly careened towards her and landed on her chest.

Jul: I was innocently sitting in bed doing my sudoku and this huge fly lands on me!

Jim: So she exploded out of bed with a loud "hey!" I ripped back the covers and there it was, gasping it last breaths, knocked senseless.

Jul: And he then smacks it again, to death this time (but still using my cloth shopping bag), despite my protests.

Jim: I put it out of its misery.

Jul: And then he turns to me and says, "Wife, are you impressed?" ... oh yes, very impressed. There's now a massive dead fly on the bedsheets.

Int: That's quite a story. So this was the highlight of the week, you say?

Jim: Well last Saturday we went to "Long's Bakery", up in Indianapolis, which I had heard had great donuts. It's been a while since we've had really good donuts. We stood in line for 25 minutes! And the number of donuts on trays in the back was staggering - so many kinds and so many. It felt like this "classic" old American bakery. Been around since the 50s and the shop hasn't changed much since then.


Jul: We gave in and bought a half dozen donuts and one "gator log" (some type of huge frosted-nut donut). One man in front of us bought 5 dozen donuts and brownies.

Jim: And they were ... amazing!!

Jul: We wolfed down three in no time and enjoyed the sugar high for a while. The best was called "apple fry." Never heard of those before.

Jim: But then the stomachache set in ... so when we got home we put the rest in the freezer.

Int: Thanks for the recommendation. Next time, I'd like to hear some more about what the transition from South Africa to Indiana has been like.

Jul: Oh definitely, next time. Every day it seems we're making observations. Like this week it suddenly hit me, "Wow these gallons of milk are so huge! And the milk stays fresh so long! And the milk is fresh, not from a box!" But more on that later...