Severe Thunderstorm Warning

Ella, here, writing in from Lincoln, Nebraska. I join our distinguished list of far-flung correspondents, at least for five days. The Villager Inn is stylish digs. Musty smelling, with one of those shower heads that spits. It is here that we've set up our operations room. Yogurt, beer, cashews, and Goldfish crackers. My four-year-old nephew has plenty of crayons and fruit rollups. I have a wireless connection and my copy of Madame Bovary.

The crickets are going crazy and the wind has quieted. The sky is dark, thick, low. It's probably about 100 degrees outside. We're prepared, if needed, to go into our bathroom with pillows and, of course, the beer.

I agree with the dine well write well philosophy, Ben. Also: dine badly, write even better. Come to Lincoln, Nebraska and try to find a vegetable. The adventure is worth 100 lines of prose.

Tastee Inn & Out is a classic run-down drive in. The Tasty sandwich is a loose meat (cooked for hours) burger on a soft bun. The meat is rich and oniony, with a hint of mustard cooked into it. The sandwich would be nothing without the pickles. Onion chips are fried dark crisp. When you order, the counter gal pushes your order slip through a vaccuum tube back to the kitchen, and the trays rattle around on a conveyer belt when your food is ready. There's a keno machine in the corner, an out-of-order juke box, and formica-topped tables with red diner chairs. Tasty has seen better days--part of the ceiling is coming down and outside, car parts rust in the parking lot, under the old metal overhang, but mom said that it hasn't changed much. "The atrium is new," she says, pointing to an enclosed sunporch that has been slapped onto the side of the building. "New?" I ask? "Oh, you know, within the last thirty years or so," she says and we laugh. We've been looking forward to our Tasty since we arrived.