At O'Hare Airport (in Chicago) there are many, many, many people. They are all going somewhere and they have a lot of stuff. In late March, there are many many families traveling to destinations far and wide. Many of these families are visiting extended families: Grandmas, Grandfathers, Aunts and such. I guess you could count the unencumbered woman and her entourage as among this crowd, much as we try to deny it. So we joined the masses. We flew across the country. We heard stuff, we saw people, we read the news, we witnessed television. It eats away at us. It eats away at me, in particular. But then, a few days pass and I'm wrapped up in my whole new universe. Learning? There really is a whole lot of difference across the land. Also...people got really big. As in, people got really fat. Also...people don't seem to really have a place, or a thing, or whatever. I looked at the person ringing up my Peet's coffee and organic milk and sundry items (flip flops, barbie accoutrements) at Fred Meyer and I thought to myself: "Christian? Homophope? Lesbian? Santorum supporter? Composter? Hair-dyer? Offspring of Farmers? Offspring of Factory Workers? California transplant? Offspring of any skilled trade or government employer or healthcare worker or anything? Former fisherman/woman? Housewife? Owned grocery/pharmacy/diner/lumber mill/whatever? What can we really hope for, if anything? What's the story that would even be appealing?
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| "Click yer heels, girlfriend..." |
And then I'm looking at this picture of a mobile (manufactured) home, (dated, of course, the new models look like prefab ranches) and all the lush greenery, thinking, this is gorgeous, huh? But then, where am I? Where did I come from? Who are my neighbors? How do we create community in this spread out, post-industrial world? This is when I'm supposed to explain, LF, how it's all going to work out. But I haven't a clue. So...I'm taking suggestions....ideas?
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