My time in New York seems to have had the desired effect.
I return much more relaxed. It was wonderful spending time with my daughter Elizabeth and her partner, Jeremy. Together with Eileen, we had many fascinating conversations and experiences. The effect on me was very positive.
One big thing I am noticing today as I go about my usual Holland Michigan chores (Farmer’s Market, Grocery store) is how uptight people here seem to me. I’ve often noticed that I don’t fit in so well locally. This is to be expected I guess.
Yesterday waiting for our plane from Cincinnati to Grand Rapids a very thin elderly woman engaged me in a bit of conversation. She was chatty and our plane was oversold so there was a bit of a lull. She confided that she had just returned from a homecoming gathering at her under graduate college. She said how pleasant it was that the college had not changed because, you know, so many colleges are becoming more liberal. Fortunately hers was still conservative. I made polite sounds. On the inside I thought to myself, welcome back to Western Michigan, Steve. Heh.
My trip to NY had an odd effect of re-affirming my own little corner and style of life in my little town. I saw so many people who were obviously interested in so many different things. The energy was pretty high on the street most of the time.
The Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition was phenomenal. These experiences always leave me refreshed and invigorated. Seeing it at the Whitney was very cool.
This past Sunday Roseanne Cash was interviewed by Diane Solomon for the NYT Sunday Mag. She said something that struck home to me:
DS What led you to settle in Manhattan?
RC You know that saying “We always thought she was kind of weird, but it turns out she’s just a New Yorker.”
Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me. I hope so.
