ok, this sounds like it's going to be a religious post, and maybe it is, to a point. but. here's the deal. i'm a plains girl. i have never lived anywhere else. while i long for the sea, i sometimes wonder. maybe it's the openness i crave. i went to new york a few years back, and i was stunned at the number and variety of trees. even in the fields in the country, they were surrounded by trees. it *almost* made me claustrophobic.
one of my favorite shows is Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Tonight, i'm watching the Egypt episode. Right now, he's in the desert with the Bedouins. and it appeals. the openness, the barrenness. knowing that there's nothing between you and the horizon, which is miles away. While i found the trees beautiful, and i find mountains beautiful as well, i long for open spaces.
when we went to tybee island, when we visited my brother in georgia, my favorite time was walking the beach. nothing before me but miles and miles of open beach, and to the east, uninterrupted ocean.
i think it's my pioneer soul. both my grandmothers crossed the plains in covered wagons. the older of the two didn't go far (she was born in mondamin, iowa, and they continued on to the tekamah, nebraska area when she was 6 weeks old, although they came from further east), but my younger grandmother was born in 1905, and travelled from iowa to wyoming when she was 5. considering horses/oxen were lucky to get 10 miles a day with those heavy burdens (it's 700 miles from here to gillette, the largest city where they settled), it was a long ass trip.
my grandpa ran away from home in indiana when he was 15, in 1903, so probably, he travelled the same way. i don't know about my other grandpa, except that he was born in germany in 1892, and travelled with his family to wyoming when he was 18 (it just occured to me that he and my grandmother went to wyoming at the same time, lol). he was the eldest of 10 children. maybe they took the train, but i kinda doubt it. 10 kids on a train?
either way, i crave open spaces. i miss living in the country, where there are miles to the next neighbor, and not feet (i often hear the neighbors coming & going from my bedroom, as their driveway runs right next to it). mark wants our next home to be in the country, but it's not feasible at this time, with both boys in high school, and both our folks here in the omaha/cb area.
maybe later.
we drove out to wilson island today, to double check everything for the family reunion that's coming in 3 weeks. it was wonderful, seeing the horizon miles away again, and open spaces. the river was even open to the sky. i'm supposed to go back on wednesday to check the electrical hookups (we're renting 2 camping spaces so that we have enough electrical hookups for all the food, lol). i may sit there for a while, and just absorb the open.
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3 comments:
Honey if you want it bad enough, ask God. He will give it to you. You don't have soul deep cravings for nothing.
I'm just the oppisite I crave trees. That;s the only complaint that I have living here in prairie hell, no trees. We planted five when we moved in but trees need several decades. I miss woods. I need to get in the woods several times a year. most likly why we alwasy camp in wooded areas. Perhaps you'll have the plains soon and i'll hace the woods. until next time...
love it....
stuart thought i was crazy when i first moved here because i kept pointing out the clouds and the sky...honestly the sky just isn't this big where i grew up! (NY)he grew up in alberta; all prairie all the time:)so he never notices the sky
we just drove out to WY (i had to go for a work thing) and we drove through south dakota and back through nebraska (with a 2 month old and a 16 month old...i couldn't imagine it taking longer than it had and keeping everyone alive and my sanity; let alone in a covered wagon!)
anyway, i felt a little agoraphobic out there with nothing around but sky and prairie
i miss the east coast/new england. my soul is most at home in bigger cities and nearer to the sea. i miss the ocean so much...when i lived in boston i would take the subway north and get off on one of the very last stops which was at the beach (wonderland and revere), i did this sometimes even in winter. the ocean is where i feel most at home
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