May 26th

I made my way through central and northeastern Pennsylvania today in varied weather and surroundings.

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I completed my tour of 6 universities of the Big 10 sports conference (there are now 14 – apparently counting doesn’t count in big-time college slports). I have seen Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State and today Penn State. I strolled through an arboretum and the main quad in the old part of campus. In my periodic comments on important government projects, I have focused on the 20th century (the CCC, the GI bill and the interstate highway system). But while Lincoln was busy fighting the Civil War and emancipating the slaves, he also found time to authorize the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Act and these land-grant state colleges and universities that educate most young Americans outside the Greater Boston area.

I went on a wildlife tour at Penn’s Cave (which also has boat rides into caves) and saw several interesting animals. I drove in a downpour through a few Amish villages where I had to maneuver around many horse-drawn carriages that were really getting wet.

Then, believe it or not, I took a tour of the longest continuously used anthracite coal mine in the world (1855 to 1972). I got a better understanding of how coal mining actually works but it still seems like hard and dangerous work that nobody really should be doing.

I concluded the day with a glimpse of the Poconos and the Delaware Water Gap, where I hiked to the bottom and the top of a real cool waterfall.

I’ve got two related songs for today. There’s “Working in a Coal Mine” by Lee Dorsey. Then listen to or read very carefully the lyrics to the song “Allentown” (I was near there today). Billy Joel figured out in 1982 why Donald Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016.