Today I watched a broadcast of a men's basketball game between my beloved alma mater, Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Calvin's arch-rival, Hope College, in Holland Michigan. Disappointingly, Calvin lost. However, I did have some good pizza, at Milt's Pizza, in Lynden.

Milt's Pizza was in Lynden when I visited here as a teenager, back in the days before any national chain of any kind dreamed of establishing an outpost in Lynden. I know I ate there, but I can't remember what it was like inside. I know it was on the Guide Meridian, walkable from the home of the cousins I visited most frequently. We walked by or through pastures that now are strip malls. At some point, Milt's closed, but a few years ago some of the kids of the original Milt re-opened it in its present location.

It's nice to eat in a place that has local and personal history. The name "Milt's" has a Lynden vibe that I used to long for in those other states and places where I lived. I had a fantasy that if I lived in Lynden, I would be happier than wherever I was. Now I do live in Lynden, and I suppose I am happier.

I like to have it happen that when I meet people, my name is already familiar to them, and the first thing they will ask me about is who I'm related to (or to whom). I like it when I drive around, and I know who lives in that house, and that one--sometimes friends, sometimes relatives. I like just knowing that dotted all around the town are my aunts and uncles and cousins. I like to run into relatives and church members in the grocery store and in restaurants. I like to throw around the names of streets we all know: the Guide, the Hannegan, Front Street, Depot Road, Bender, Badger, and even . . . yes, the Kok Road.

I used to think it would be great to live on the Kok Road, just to be Kok on the Kok Road. Now, I'm not so sure, because the Kok Road borders the fairgrounds, and every year during the Northwest Washington Fair, there would be horrendous traffic and people wanting to park in front of your house, and possibly in front of your driveway.

Anyway, it's good to be here. It's not perfect, because I'm not perfect. But it's the place for me.