Wednesday, January 25, 2006

'There are places I remember...all my life'

In my travels – part of which I am in the process of writing about now – when I go to certain places a lot – they become part of me; part of my ‘inner’ landscape.
I will go through my tedious, day-to-day existence and I will get ‘Toronto’ feeling or a ‘Michigan’ feeling or a ‘Pittsburgh’ feeling...I can’t quite explain it. It’s a physical and mental feeling. I can actually ‘smell’ things or perhaps it’s something I smell that triggers the memory and I am transported to that particular place, suddenly. Then the day-dreaming begins and I find myself wishing I could go to that place – be in that former moment – freeze the time that was spent there and ‘physically’ revisit – not merely just a stroll down ‘memory lane’...

The Toronto ‘feel’ is one of actual ‘freedom’ there is no other way to put it – it’s European and free and easy. People seem to be friendly and happy – there’s an air of intelligence and tolerance. I adore Toronto and it’s been way too long since I’ve been there – I am due for a trip soon

The Michigan ‘feel’ is something I’ve just lately been experiencing. It’s a ‘winter’ feel it’s a ‘pioneering spirit’ kind of feeling – a ‘wagons ho westward young man’. I get the feeling I am out numbered a lot when I am up there – that when I go visit the places I visit they are bastions of right-wing-NRAers-you-can’t-take-my-gun-unless-you-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-fingers kind of ‘feel’ – definitely a bit ‘white bread’ and wholesome (not Detroit mind you that’s a totally different feel) – it’s more a blue collar or live off the land kind of place and although I like the people there’s a little b it of fear mixed in for the lack of tolerance for things that might be alternative…I feel lost often when I am up there.

The Pittsburgh feel is home – pure and simple – it’s the mountains and woods, it’s the streams and the valleys – it’s Italian and Irish and it’s also a great city to have fun in – yes it’s a bitch to drive around in Pittsburgh but the richness of the city – the deepness of my roots is always a comfort to me when I go there – and I don’t go often enough.

The reason why I am writing this today is because of things I’ve been hearing lately about the rebuilding of New Orleans – especially from people who have either never been there or never lived there. When I hear things like ‘perhaps they should not rebuild’ I want grab those people/commentators and shake them violently and scream at them. Because unless you’ve experienced the ‘N’orleans’ (pronounced Nahlins) ‘feel’, then you need to shut up and make sure they DO rebuild this city. It is old – older to me than any other city I have ever been in – there is a definite French and Spanish influence – but there is also something that underlies everything else – the people – the resilience of the people. Whether it’s the’ black-water-jazz-mamma’s-cookin’ of the old black families, or the slightly (I don’t mean slightly I am just trying to play it down) – somewhat (and I don’t mean somewhat either) sly-with-a-tinge-of-illegal-or-at-least-you-don’t-want-to-cross-them-or-piss-them-off’ Cajuns – (and I dare say it’s even more that that) – there’s things about that city that in my mind, in my memory will always live on and the idea of there never being another New Orleans is so incredibly sad to me – it’s almost unbearable. I long to go back – I doubt I would have ever been able to live there but I can certainly appreciate how difficult it must be for those who did call it home (for generations) to be faced with the idea it might never come back. To me this would be tantamount to telling me that Ireland just sank into the ocean and that’s it – it’s down and nobody is thinking of ‘raising’ it back up...*that’s* how much N’Orleans means to me and dozens of other people who never grew up there or lived there – so just imagine how horrible it must be for those people who do call it home and how much stronger their ‘feel’ of that place is than mine – or any idiot form the US Government who can’t even figure out if they are going to pay for flood insurance. People I am not saying we should build every last square inch of the place – but we do need to build stronger levees and help New Orleans come back – the world would be a lesser place without a lot of those old neighborhoods and the wonderful people and culture that made (and still make) ‘Nahlins’ what it is and what it will always be – a rich cultural mecca.

1 Comments:

Blogger Liam said...

And here I thought I was the only one who did that?

I associate places with things as well...

General Hospital always makes me think of my Junior High School, because I'd get out at 10 to 3 and come home and watch it.

11:25 AM  

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