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Saturday, February 27, 2016

"Village"

I lived in an actual “village” when I was a child.  It became a “city” in 1970, and I remember the excitement that we were going big-time, with loads of new opportunities and growth just around the corner!  It was a time full of a retro tv sitcom kind of enthusiasm, at least a decade after all the places with actual growth potential had already grown.

Let’s face it, we had a hilly, picturesque landscape that still had quite a few farms.  It came as a surprise when the most westerly corner was deemed acceptable for shopping, and apartment buildings.  There's even a McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts now.

I preferred being a “village”.  That sounded quaint, and I liked us being quaint.  Hansel and Gretel about to be eaten by a witch in the woods was our kind of thing.  We didn't have any kind of central town.  My great-grandpa lived in what looked like an actual village to me: a cluster of houses, a blinking light in the middle, a few shops.

This week I read Levi's Will by Dale Cramer.  This book talks about the area where Great-grandpa lived, which is crazy since hardly anyone lives there (pop. 423 in 2010) and a lot of them that do are Amish, and Amish don't write books to the best of my knowledge.  Maybe more crazy is that somehow I'm related to Dale.  I've forgotten how we're related since my family is "English" (not Amish), but Great-grandma was a Cramer in the same microclimate.

I knew we were related when I picked up the book, but I mostly forgot about that as I read.  It's an interesting story with a lot of tidbits about Amishdom.  Other people must've liked it too because I see Dale has more books published.  I'm thinking of reading them.

Creativity must be inheritable, or perhaps certain families foster creativity?  I think about this when I have to communicate with people who simply don't think like me.  Rule-bound, linear thinking is an obstacle that can't be overcome.  They see no need to change their ways, which means a creative solution is required, which of course will be disregarded since they disapprove of creativity.  (Yeah, it's been like that lately.)

Sometimes I fantasize about running away to a village somewhere, or maybe to some place more isolated and buried in a forest.  I could be the evil witch in the woods luring children with candy?  Except I probably would worry about the kids' teeth and wonder why they didn't have adult supervision.  I might invite them in for tea and come up with cool art projects while I educated them about important stuff like questioning authority.  Well, maybe not that since they ran away from home in the first place, but I'm sure I could come up with other topics for their enlightenment and opposition to boxed thinking.  Maybe it's a good thing I bought tea and cookies yesterday?

On a different topic, I saw crocuses this week!  I also learned a new thing.  They close their flowers when it snows.  I was a little undecided whether to feel happy to see flowers or grumble about the snow, but ultimately the important thing is spring is coming!!

10 comments:

  1. Glad to hear the crocus is out your way Linda, spring is just around the corner. That sounds like an interesting read and fun for you to find a link to the author. Your thinking and writing is always so creative. Enjoy the rest of the weekend x

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    1. Your flowers are farther along than mine are, but I'll eventually catch up... after the snow they predict this week. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and have a great week too!

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    2. This time of year sometimes spring feels like a foolish hope :)

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  2. Thanks for making your way over to my book review! I'm hearing spring bird chirps and the snow is almost history. Thank goodness. Is that your snowy illustration? It's a happy cheery piece.

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    1. Thanks Sharon! I saw a robin yesterday, so maybe things are looking up?

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  3. One of the good things about four seasons with real winters is that spring feels like an exciting surprise, every year. It does to me, anyway. Congratulations on your crocuses! We've got pussywillows coming out.

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    1. I've always loved pussy willows, but they don't want to grow in my yard. I think you're right about spring feeling like a surprise :)

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  4. Interesting thoughts around your background and where you feel you belong. I have always belonged in the city, but have also always enjoyed being out of city every so often. So a little of both is a good combination for me. Now, whether creativity is inherent or not, is also an interesting question. I think not, but you need to push your willingness to be creative to actually become creative. That's my though, at least.

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    1. Maybe there's more than one truth? But I agree with you about pushing ourselves with our creativity however it is that we come by it.

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