Report from the Puget Sound
First, I’m unhappy describing myself as a Midwesterner. I prefer to call myself a Chicagoan. I’ll admit, reluctantly, that I grew up in Ohio. Growing up, though, I always thought of myself as a New Englander living in the Midwest, never as an Ohioan.
This comes to mind now because the weather has been clear the past few days, and I’m finding it disturbing. I found out, on moving here, that this entire area is ringed with mountains. There’s the Cascades to the west and south, and across the sound, there are the Olympics. I know this, but I’m constantly surprised when I look to the horizon, and there are the goddamn mountains.
Horizons are for being flat. The sky meets the earth, or the sky meets the water, in a straight line. There ought not to be jagged rocky things jutting up. On days like today, when the sky is cloudless and blue, the mountains in the distance are sharp, and I can see the snow on top and the rocks and the other stony parts. Every time I see them, it confuses me. If I drove a car here, I’m sure I would crash.
The worst part is, this makes me feel provincial and small. And it makes me want to scurry back to the places I know.
Last 5 posts by the editor
- BREAKING: WI Roadside Collection of Dead Deer May Cease - December 17th, 2008
- law of corpse and carcass update #2 - August 4th, 2008
- 1L Callback - June 23rd, 2008
- law of corpse and carcass update - June 16th, 2008
- another bright idea - June 2nd, 2008
towniewannabe said,
July 2, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
I usually feel better if I am higher up in the mountains as opposed to being surrounded by them - that’s when claustrophobia sets in. I always thought this was because I grew up in a place where I could see for miles and miles, but maybe others are also susceptible to these feelings.
maya said,
July 3, 2007 @ 9:35 am
I looked out the window on my plane ride across the country recently and was totally freaked out by the land that has absolutely nothing there - just dark colored earth that looks like it could be the moon or when I’m feeling very dramatic, Mars! I think we all feel better when we’re surrounded by geography that seems familiar, and if we admire some of the majesty or natural beauty of certain landscapes. I felt much better as we flew over Missouri, of all states, because it had green trees and water that I could see.