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It's been an action-packed week in Laramie. I'll go in reverse chronological order and tell you what Mike and I have been up to.
Last night we saw Ani DiFranco live at University of Wyoming. Ani is a feminist folk singer who became quite prominent in the 1990s. She is remarkably prolific and has released one album per year since 1990. She owns all of her own music and has never been under the thumb of any studio, since she started her own record company: Righteous Babe Records. Ani came to my attention in my Women & Gender Studies classes at USU and I've been a fan since then, but have never had the chance to see her live. Then she came to Laramie! She is absolutely amazing on guitar. Her songs tend to be political, but one of my favorites that she played last night is about being a new mother. It's called "Present/Infant":

lately i've been glaring into mirrors
picking myself apart
you'd think at my age i'd of thought
of something better to do
than making insecurity into a full-time job
making insecurity into an art

i fear my life will be over
and i will have never lived it unfettered
always glaring into mirrors
mad i don't look better

but now here's this tiny baby
and they say she looks just like me
and she is smiling at me
with that present/infant glee
and i would defend
to the ends of the earth
her perfect right to be

so i'm beginning to see some problems
with the ongoing work of my mind
and i've got myself a new mantra
it says: "don't forget to have a good time"
don't let the sellers of stuff
power enough
to rob you of your grace
love is all over the place
there's nothing wrong with your face
love is all over the place

So that was cool. It seems like a long time since we went to a rock concert.

Tuesday night we saw a UW production of Hamlet. It was quite excellent. There were two guest stars: Pete Simpson, Jr. played Hamlet and Pete Simpson, Sr. played the ghost of Hamlet's father. The Simpsons are part of one of Wyoming's most important political families, and some of them are theatrical to boot! (Al Simpson, former senator from Wyoming, is now co-chairing President Obama's commission on reducing the federal debt. He's probably the most well-known in the family, and Pete Sr.'s brother. This is completely tangential, but I highly recommend Al Simpson's interview in Newsweek. The best part is how he describes Rush Limbaugh: "I never considered Rush-babe to be anything more than an entertainer. He gets people all riled up all day long, get them filled up with gas, ulcers, heartburn, B.O., and fear. Hell, that's pretty good. You really are an entertainer if you can get that done!" Oh, and how he describes the filibuster: "It's like a big old hobnail-boot ass-kicking machine.")

I meant to review Hamlet and got sidetracked with Al's colorful way of speaking. We enjoyed the play very much and were impressed with the students and guest actors.
Finally, on Monday night my book group discussed this really amazing novel, The Secret Scripture. It's really beautifully written, with descriptions like poetry. The main character and narrator is a 100-year-old woman named Roseanne Clear who has been in mental hospitals for about 60 years. She writes her history -- and the history of Ireland -- on sheets of paper that she found and hides in the floorboards of her room. Some of the members of my book group thought the book was depressing, and Roseanne's story is a sad one, but as a narrator she is never mournful or despairing. I highly recommend the book.

I love Laramie. There are so many great things to do, even though it's quite a small town. And the people here are just the best. Even though it's mid-April and winter lingers (the forecast says we'll have 3-7 inches of snow between now and Saturday morning), I think we made the right choice when we decided to move here.