September 17, 2008

Peek a Boo

I absolutely loath it when people tell me how "busy" they are.
If we should meet and attempt to catch up on things isn't it far better to talk about anything else than the business of being busy.
That being said, I have been maximizing the full temporal potential of the past several terrestrial revolutions with a multitude of activities and an efficacious amount of elbow grease.

I am not so foolish as to use all my time wrestling with the issues and problems that make life a tangle of Gordian proportions. Sometimes the best answer is to let time handle it and just get on with the business of living life. Alexander was not only direct and clever, he was also probably impatient
The weather has been glorious over the past week and since we (by that I mean "I") are being threatened by a typhoon I decided that it was far too important to get out of the house for the weekend and give myself a change of scenery and pace. I packed up the wife, both cats and two sets of golf clubs along with other sundry items, hopped into my van and made for the valley of milk and wine.

It felt good to get back to doing a bit of farming and as soon as I find the darned cable that hooks my camera up to my computer I will show you the photographs that I took. By the way we have a surplus of vegetables so if any of you want some cabbage, chile peppers or cucumbers just let me know.

People here often ask me why someone who was born in New York would decide to live in such a small backwater town. In over seventeen years of fielding that particular query I have never been able to give anyone a satisfactory answer. No single thing attracts me to this place. The overwhelming gestalt of natural beauty, peaceful surroundings and sumptuous air and water loses it's charm as soon as I try to describe the effect it has on me. Feelings are meant to be felt; not talked about.
Every now and again I get the yen to return to the states and live among the people of my homeland The Pacific Northwest looks like a really cool part of the world, but it gets a lot of rain. The Southwest,hmmm, I wonder what it would be like to live without snow? What are the good and maybe not so good points about your town? Would you ever like to live somewhere other than where you are now?

12 comments:

The Grunt said...

Even though I am part of the culture of the state I am in, it is the biggest obstacle for most people to enjoy how unbelievable Utah is. The southern part of this state is unreal and can kill the unprepared in hours, but I love it to death. The north is a skiers' paradise. The east has tons of dinosaur bones. The west is a no man's land of mystery and twilight--no cow is safe. Hell, Utah is also the home state of Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall gang, not to mention the original destination for "alternative" marriages. Plus, we are not Idaho, so we've got that going for us. My state slogan was rejected by the tourism bureau: "Utah, Home of the Downwinders!" On a serious note, the WWII Japanese internment camps in Utah and the Mountain Meadows Massacre are stains that will forever haunt this state...and Michael Jordan's push off of Bryon Russel in the NBA finals.

lime said...

dude, i am reading this at roughly 6am, i needed some sort of alert to warm me of high level vocab before i am fully conscious.

ok, i think i am ok now.

you pose an interesting set of questions given that i live in a PA "backwater" that for the last 15 years (and particularly the last 7) has been completely inundated by folks from NY/Metro NJ. i think the people who ask you why a new yorker would voluntarily choose to live in a "backwater" reveal their own bias. just as my family revealed theirs when they asked why on earth i'd leave our little town to live in a foreign land back when i moved to trinidad.

the good where i live? the natural beauty, like you said, it has to be experienced rather than described

the bad? greedy f*cking developers destroying the good with mcmansions and strip malls and people who decide both parents will commute into the city so they can afford mcmansions, meanwhile the kids are effectively abandoned.

don't get me wrong, there have been many transplants who have been a great benefit to the community and enriched the cultural landscape here. it's the ones who suck up resources and return nothing but trouble who i'd like to ship back.

leelee said...

We moved to South Florida in 1991, so we've been here as long as you have been in Japan. My husband and I flew south for a complete change of venue due to certain events in our lives. The short story is..we needed a real change and this sunny balmy place has truly served it's purpose.

That being said...I MISS living in NJ/NY metro area (and Lime..I am one of those folks who visited Pa regularly and am still inspired by it's beauty and fine folks...I always try to be respectful of the natives;-] )

Event though SoFla is my home, I still feel like a NJ girl..take that as you will.

My dream now would be too be a "sno-bird" 6 months in Florida for the winter and 6 months "up north".

NYD I am looking forward to seeing your photos.

HUGS!

Mona said...

I want them vegetables!

All of them!

Good points about my town...Cheap human resource, so I have a three servants, who do my cooking, cleaning, washing etc.

Bad points, extremely hot weather in summers! But the Ac/s take care of that!

Nope nope nope, I'm not going anywhere...I feel like a queen here!

VEGETABLES!!!

Grant said...

Reminds me of a conference I attended. Several literary agents took time from their busy schedule to tell the group they couldn't take time from their busy schedule to actually take on new clients. I wondered how many clients they could have taken if they had used that time more efficiently.

When considering a move from Atlanta to Seattle, I discovered that Seattle averages 45 more days of precipitation per year but 14 inches less. We get more sun here, but when it rains it pours. Also, we are facing a shortage of Japanese women. Otherwise it's pretty cool here.

Kurt said...

When people tell me how busy they are, I tell them "Everyone is busy." It's a bad excuse.

I'm only living where I'm living temporarily. I shall return to California.

Anonymous said...

I won't question it, in fact - I'd join you in a heartbeat. The only medicine/diet that seems to have any effect on my condition just happens to be Eastern... I'm currently trying to connect with the growing Asian community in my area for some guidance and advice....

Anonymous said...

I can understand needing a change of place every so often and when touring the world you find one place you seem to fit and decide to stay. I have traveled within my country and lived in many areas of my state as well as other states,but being a born and raised NYker I have never found another place where I feel comfortable. Home was always here in NY, but now that most of my family and friends are gone it doesn't feel so much like home anymore. And still I stay. I guess I'm a bit frightened to let go of the familiar, otherwise I'd be living in Japan. :) Those veggies sound really good too.
Love to all
JBG

Corn Dog said...

I love the weather here in California. Love it all the time. The cold and I can't seem to get along any more nor the extreme heat. I love that I don't have air conditioning. I love my little shoe box house with all the slide open windows and all my neighbors on my little street. But the violence in Oakland and the trash! Oh my Lord. It is horrendous in a way I never imagined possible.

When people tell me they are busy or stressed, I always think, but is there time to vacuum? Right now, no. Dog hair running through the house as big as the little dog. And what am I doing? Playing on the computer. Yah.

moi said...

The Rocky Mountain West is IT por Moi. Here in Nuevo Mexico, we have an easy-going lifestyle, abundant sunshine, AND plenty of outdoor adventuring activities. Including skiing. The only other place I'd consider moving to is Utah.

Megan said...

"California, no doubt about it."

I admit, though, that I've been hardly anywhere else.

I enjoy the diversity. The signs on the businesses in my neighborhood are in four different languages (too bad I only speak one of them). And you got the ocean. And the mountains. And the desert. And...

I wish the 'get rich quick' lenders and builders and speculators had kept their paws out of the housing till, but we shall recover!

puerileuwaite said...

I thought you liked Asia for those square watermelons.