The Midwest is America's breadbowl. Most of it is safe, cozy, charming.
What makes the Midwest the Midwest? - its people and its scenery/geography. The two go hand in hand - landscapes, driving trips, farming, outdoor activities, grilling, haunted houses, gardening, fairs, etc.
Do these "things" exist without the human there doing them? Is it in the intermixing of human and raw, unbridled nature that we get that distinct "Midwest feeling"? Would a newly-plowed cornfield be beautiful had no one done that work, or in turn had no one been there to notice the work already done?
Many people in the Midwest (born, raised there) feel the need to escape it. As if the Midwest were a landlocked prison. "A prison of what? For whom?"
Walking through Central Park the other day, maybe it was Independence Day, under the surreal tree canopy street by Sheep Meadow, I realized I traded one Midwest for another. That even if I had been wanting to escape something by leaving the Midwest, I now lived in the middle west of Manhattan. I lived in Hell's Kitchen. Midtown West. I know those reading might see no irony or coincidence; it is there I assure you. Words not only MEAN things (like red is red, and dead is dead), they are also symbols... carriers of ancient feelings and messages from one soul or even one generation to another. They are all we have to give us perspective, and perhaps in addition to song and touch, are what allow us to connect to the "Other" outside outselves. They are more than just a meaning - they are a glue. A frame of reference. Context.
The weight of this realization surprised me. A heavy and dark mood of contemplation swept over me. Had I indeed moved up? Was it hierarchical? Or was I living the same life at a different latitude? Had I simply moved ON? HAVE I moved on? Did I finally have some sense of context for just how truly insane my life and the energy of the last nine months had been?
I definitely feel the past moving further into the past. I feel my roots settling in here. Instead of appreciating landscapes in a car, I appreciate peoplescapes in a subway or on the street. I have moved. I have not arrived. I have always been here. But I know now, that I am not going anywhere any time soon.
Here are some links to stuff I can't stop watching/listening to. Check them out. You'll be happy and/or evil you did.
Annie's official home page:
http://www.anniemusic.co.uk/
Goldfrapp's official page:
http://www.goldfrapp.co.uk/
PostSecret blog - addictive, human, voyeuristic, and free therapy
http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/
I post under my pseudonym Corocet
NYC/Chicago/Boston walking/public transportation directions
http://www.hopstop.com/
Currently listening : The Smiths By The Smiths Release date: 25 October, 1990
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