Friday, July 02, 2004

Vacation starts in t-minus fifty minutes. Huzzah.

I was reading a book review in the New York Times this morning. It's about Richard Russo, author of the book Nobody's Fool which the movie Nobody's Fool starring Paul Newman is based on. Just for a point of reference. Well, apparently this guy writes books about small town America now.

And there was a quote from the article that I found interesting.
In Mr. Russo's novels, on the other hand, we are given the towns all over the country that for a generation now have been losing young people to cities, manufacturing jobs to the ages of information and globalization, and local pride to a sense that nothing of consequence in the world is happening anywhere nearby. The idea that the disappearance of small towns might be a loss — a chipping away of the national character is how Mr. Russo speaks of it — was something that neither Anderson nor Lewis could have considered.
I've read about small towns in America in the Times before, and it always makes me question my wanting to move away and live in the big city. I want to move back to Wisconsin (or at least the vacinity), but I keep naming big cities -- Chicago, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, or at least Madison. I don't know that I could move to a small town -- it just seems like it would be harder. But then I read this stuff about how small towns are dying out and I think, maybe I should become a small town librarian. Work in a little public library and get to be all things to the library. It might be more challenging than what I'm doing right now, and I probably wouldn't have time to write stuff like this at work! Even if it is the day before a holiday weekend and no one wants to come to the library.

I don't know...but when I read about it, I often stop to think about going somewhere smaller. Perhaps it is better in my head than in reality. Well, I'll get a chance to experience it over the next few weeks -- I'll be back in Plymouth, which is probably the real reason I would rather live in big cities than a small town.

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