We’ve had some important developments these past two weeks. We finally closed on our house in Durham yesterday. Way too much drama and a tough market for sellers, so we’re glad this is done. We’re also sad, it’s a big tie to Durham that we now let go. We also have some money we didn’t have before, and get to spend a little of it on “discretionary” items and paying off Ann’s student loan.
This happened on the summer solstice. Our friend Kit took us to Pine Ridge reservation to see a great art exhibit there. And we went to a summer solstice party at a house in the country and have met some neat folks. Ann played her cello and we sang songs and sat around a fire. So are feeling much less isolated. Lots of momentous things for one day, eh?
The day before I found out I didn’t get the job at Pine Ridge. I’m disappointed, but also a little relieved. It’s a long drive, and a very challenging environment. And I’m starting to get busier with career coaching clients via my former employer. This is a very good thing, and may allow me to cobble together a few different things that enable a flexible schedule.
We had our first riding lesson last week and learned how to bridle and saddle a horse. Our teacher is very thorough and focused on safety. Both she and a former student who dropped by are real matter-of-fact folks and very much at home as western riders. The former student impressed us as a genuine cowboy and competes in rodeos. He rode a horse that was acting up while we were there – it was great to see such competence and the results of our teacher’s teaching. Next Saturday we’ll probably get to ride, if we remember enough of the first lesson!
I was able to get together with some folks individually last week, simply visiting and getting to know each other. I also attended a meeting of some social service providers. It’s been real helpful in learning about the community, and in further conversations with these and other folks I’m getting input on some ideas for ways to occupy myself and possibly contribute to the community. In brief, this would be getting an online comprehensive community calendar up and running, and initiating a listserv for community providers. Still in the needs analysis stage, so we’ll see.
Newsy post, but what I’ve got for now. It’s the nature of this mode to be a “narrowcast” for folks wanting to know about our transition to NE. I hope it also serves an impetus for y’all to get in touch and keep us up to date, or just chat. Later…
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Back in Nebraska
I had a lovely time in NC, thank you. I spent Memorial Day at Sunset Beach with "The Tribe", visited friends and colleagues in the Triangle the following week, and capped it off with MC'ing the Beaver Queen Pageant the following Saturday. Sunday I sat in the Chapel Hill Zen Center with the Sangha, visited some friends and went to a potluck on the block on Lynch St. our soon-to-be old house is located.
Ginger showed a DVD at the beach of a compilation of photos from the last 20 years or so of the Tribe at the beach. I cried afterwards because I've missed folks so much. It was cathartic, and unusual for me.
In talking with folks I've been able to articulate a couple of things that are useful for me to keep in mind. One: I am, you are probably not surprised to hear, an extrovert. For me, this means that I get energy and validation from interacting with folks. Not just validation as in "I am liked/loved" but as in "I exist". At least, that's how it feels when I am too isolated. So I have to very consciously arrange interactions with people where we can share stories, face to face, at least twice a week. This is not news to me, and possibly not to you either, but it has really been reinforced by the contrast of my visit to NC, and return to NE.
The other thing for me to remember is that, as independent professionally as I have been or have tried to be, I do much better on staff. Being accountable day-to-day to someone else is much easier for me than being productive on my own. While I am not on staff, I'm going to try incorporating some more structure to at least reinforce self-accountability.
There's lots more I could say about the folks I saw and the fun I had, especially doing the BQP again. I'd rather just say that I take away from this trip that, while a part of me thinks it is crazy to leave a good situation like I've had in NC, the foremost part is going to take a crack at revealing a different sort of good situation here that can sustain us. We've had a good weekend playing with folks here, including going to a Pow-wow at Fort Robinson.
Writing this helps me to keep these things in mind, to feel your presence somehow. I could write a diary, but you know I like an audience...
Ginger showed a DVD at the beach of a compilation of photos from the last 20 years or so of the Tribe at the beach. I cried afterwards because I've missed folks so much. It was cathartic, and unusual for me.
In talking with folks I've been able to articulate a couple of things that are useful for me to keep in mind. One: I am, you are probably not surprised to hear, an extrovert. For me, this means that I get energy and validation from interacting with folks. Not just validation as in "I am liked/loved" but as in "I exist". At least, that's how it feels when I am too isolated. So I have to very consciously arrange interactions with people where we can share stories, face to face, at least twice a week. This is not news to me, and possibly not to you either, but it has really been reinforced by the contrast of my visit to NC, and return to NE.
The other thing for me to remember is that, as independent professionally as I have been or have tried to be, I do much better on staff. Being accountable day-to-day to someone else is much easier for me than being productive on my own. While I am not on staff, I'm going to try incorporating some more structure to at least reinforce self-accountability.
There's lots more I could say about the folks I saw and the fun I had, especially doing the BQP again. I'd rather just say that I take away from this trip that, while a part of me thinks it is crazy to leave a good situation like I've had in NC, the foremost part is going to take a crack at revealing a different sort of good situation here that can sustain us. We've had a good weekend playing with folks here, including going to a Pow-wow at Fort Robinson.
Writing this helps me to keep these things in mind, to feel your presence somehow. I could write a diary, but you know I like an audience...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Staying and going
May 24, 2011
I’ve not written anything here since March 6. I’m grateful that some of you have gotten in touch, asking how I/We are doing.
It’s been tough. After making contact with a few really nice folks and learning a little about some possibilities for me professionally here, I became discouraged. I talked with a class at the local college as a result of seeking to learn if there was any interest in meditation. Nothing has come of that so far. My other two primary meetings with folks were something of a wake-up. The basic message was that, like many people here, I would have to put together two, three or more avenues for employment. This is not a prosperous area and there are few good full time jobs that become available.
At this point, I became discouraged, realizing it would take longer than I had hoped for work to come together – including getting some contract work from my former employer. I decided to dial back my efforts and take some downtime, since I’d been running pretty much flat out since well before we left NC.
I’ve done some neat things – bought a stunt kite, hooked up some media so we can watch web-based video and transfer LP/cassettes to MP3 format. I’ve gotten into a regular exercise routine of ½ hour of jogging or rowing or swimming 4-6 times per week. I’ve experimented with some cooking, baking some killer muffins.
Some not so neat things – when veering towards depression, I isolate myself and do lots of escapist reading.
I’ve gotten some great support from friends back east, talking with them on the phone, and I always feel lots better afterwards. You may have noticed that most of the neat and not neat things are done alone. That’s the other condition that has been tough about being here. Though we have met some lovely people, some of whom could be friends, it has been very difficult to get together with them. They, imagine this, have lives and social circles of their own. I have none of the “natural” methods of regularly meeting folks here – work or church or school. Ann meets lots of folks in her role as a pastor, but understandably has to manage her social interactions in order to properly maintain this role. We’re relaxing that some as we go along, but there were several weeks down in the trough for me.
I pretty much did not find my life very interesting, so did not want to write about it here. Things are looking up recently though. I’ve interviewed for a job as an employment specialist at the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux reservation. The reservation is always one of the two poorest counties in the USA. The role would be to assist people in activities towards becoming self-sufficient, while monitoring their situation to make sure benefit requirements are met. By all accounts this would be a tough, and sometimes very rewarding job. I’ll know more in a couple of weeks.
We’ve also had some fun with some folks recently and had a few trips up to Rapid City, SD that have been fun.
Yes, I am very sensitive, so can hear you saying “Enough about you John, what about Ann, what about Chadron and Nebraska!?!?”
Ann has said a few times to me that she is in the right place, and on the occasions I have gone to her church, I see every indication that her congregation feels the same way. She has always worked hard and done a good job, and this is no different. Ann has been called here by the Bishop and the congregation, and I have to say God (though that’s a part you can appreciate I may not be too sure of).
As I’ve said previously, Chadron is a small town in the middle of the prairie. We’re surrounded by mostly low rolling hills, and now that Spring has irrevocably arrived, there’s lots of green and in town many other blooming colors. The prairie has a compelling beauty I’m just beginning to appreciate, and riding a bicycle through it is a neat way to see it. For you Easterners, the horizon is much lower and the sky much bigger. In Wyoming there are really, really big coal fields and the coal is transported by train through our area. In one of my more tourista moments, I made a video with my Ipod Touch of one, then it turns out two, of those coal trains. At Ann’s insistence I’ve posted it on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJl5Z-VLb80
Part of the motivation for making an entry now is that I want for some of you to see this before I see you. I’m leaving tomorrow for NC to go to the beach with the “Tribe” and see other friends and to participate once again in the Beaver Queen Pageant. I’m very excited, as you can imagine. Ann says she is envious. Please take from this that we miss you all very much. It’s hard to put a shape around this. We are committed to making this calling work, so as much as it feels like it, I am not going home tomorrow, I’m leaving it. We know it takes time to get into a new community, and this is not a new experience for us. It still hurts. So I am going to pay attention to the anticipation of seeing some of you, and let the other stuff go.
I’ve not written anything here since March 6. I’m grateful that some of you have gotten in touch, asking how I/We are doing.
It’s been tough. After making contact with a few really nice folks and learning a little about some possibilities for me professionally here, I became discouraged. I talked with a class at the local college as a result of seeking to learn if there was any interest in meditation. Nothing has come of that so far. My other two primary meetings with folks were something of a wake-up. The basic message was that, like many people here, I would have to put together two, three or more avenues for employment. This is not a prosperous area and there are few good full time jobs that become available.
At this point, I became discouraged, realizing it would take longer than I had hoped for work to come together – including getting some contract work from my former employer. I decided to dial back my efforts and take some downtime, since I’d been running pretty much flat out since well before we left NC.
I’ve done some neat things – bought a stunt kite, hooked up some media so we can watch web-based video and transfer LP/cassettes to MP3 format. I’ve gotten into a regular exercise routine of ½ hour of jogging or rowing or swimming 4-6 times per week. I’ve experimented with some cooking, baking some killer muffins.
Some not so neat things – when veering towards depression, I isolate myself and do lots of escapist reading.
I’ve gotten some great support from friends back east, talking with them on the phone, and I always feel lots better afterwards. You may have noticed that most of the neat and not neat things are done alone. That’s the other condition that has been tough about being here. Though we have met some lovely people, some of whom could be friends, it has been very difficult to get together with them. They, imagine this, have lives and social circles of their own. I have none of the “natural” methods of regularly meeting folks here – work or church or school. Ann meets lots of folks in her role as a pastor, but understandably has to manage her social interactions in order to properly maintain this role. We’re relaxing that some as we go along, but there were several weeks down in the trough for me.
I pretty much did not find my life very interesting, so did not want to write about it here. Things are looking up recently though. I’ve interviewed for a job as an employment specialist at the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux reservation. The reservation is always one of the two poorest counties in the USA. The role would be to assist people in activities towards becoming self-sufficient, while monitoring their situation to make sure benefit requirements are met. By all accounts this would be a tough, and sometimes very rewarding job. I’ll know more in a couple of weeks.
We’ve also had some fun with some folks recently and had a few trips up to Rapid City, SD that have been fun.
Yes, I am very sensitive, so can hear you saying “Enough about you John, what about Ann, what about Chadron and Nebraska!?!?”
Ann has said a few times to me that she is in the right place, and on the occasions I have gone to her church, I see every indication that her congregation feels the same way. She has always worked hard and done a good job, and this is no different. Ann has been called here by the Bishop and the congregation, and I have to say God (though that’s a part you can appreciate I may not be too sure of).
As I’ve said previously, Chadron is a small town in the middle of the prairie. We’re surrounded by mostly low rolling hills, and now that Spring has irrevocably arrived, there’s lots of green and in town many other blooming colors. The prairie has a compelling beauty I’m just beginning to appreciate, and riding a bicycle through it is a neat way to see it. For you Easterners, the horizon is much lower and the sky much bigger. In Wyoming there are really, really big coal fields and the coal is transported by train through our area. In one of my more tourista moments, I made a video with my Ipod Touch of one, then it turns out two, of those coal trains. At Ann’s insistence I’ve posted it on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJl5Z-VLb80
Part of the motivation for making an entry now is that I want for some of you to see this before I see you. I’m leaving tomorrow for NC to go to the beach with the “Tribe” and see other friends and to participate once again in the Beaver Queen Pageant. I’m very excited, as you can imagine. Ann says she is envious. Please take from this that we miss you all very much. It’s hard to put a shape around this. We are committed to making this calling work, so as much as it feels like it, I am not going home tomorrow, I’m leaving it. We know it takes time to get into a new community, and this is not a new experience for us. It still hurts. So I am going to pay attention to the anticipation of seeing some of you, and let the other stuff go.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
We've been here ten days now. Ann was installed as the Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chadron, NE one week ago today on 2/27 and is just now leading her first service and preaching her first sermon at the church. While she has been working at the church this past week, I've been unpacking and being otherwise domestic.
Two weeks ago our household was compacted into a truck (Thanks Asa and the other movers from TROSA!) and I was in the restricted world of the truck. When we arrived, church members and others (Thanks y'all!) unloaded most of our possesions into our split level townhouse-style apartment. The rest of our stuff we put in nearby storage. Its taken 3 weeks for process of the contraction of our household, then transporting it 1650 miles to its expansion in a smaller space, still ongoing.
We've had 3 snowfalls totaling less than 6 inches and 3 days of Spring during our ten days here. I've gotten out a bit, shopping and to storage to put more stuff there. On Monday, 2/28 I drove our new car (Subaru Forester, Thanks to Ann's parents Del and Shirley!) up from Greeley, CO through some beautiful Wyoming countryside.
About Chadron - it's a small town in high plains of the panhandle of western Nebraska. Two blocks from our home is the campus of Chadron State College with about 3,000 students. We're five minutes from anywhere in town, and then there's lots of countryside, both US Park and ranches. Pictures in this space soon. Google Chadron, NE 69337 for more of this type of info. The houses are mostly well maintained and of a wide variety of architectural styles, all mixed together. I sit at my desk and look out the window to a large hill behind the campus in the distance, and to the Missouri Synod Lutheran church across the backyard. Ann's church is a five minute walk away.
We've met very friendly folks in the church and the community. I feel there is possibility, even opportunity, for me for both relationship and employment. I have been spending most of my time alone, sometimes lonely. I've derived great comfort from the Buddhist notion of "just this", that in reality I am just who I am in this place right now. It seems fitting that I should feel sad at a time like this, missing loved ones and community. It is also liberating to meet people as just this person, no roles or personas to maintain. I am the pastor's spouse, so avoid public misbehavior, but that's the only role so far, and I don't feel restricted. It feels like this is a time to both settle in and to explore, so I'm doing my best to be open to what comes around in the process.
Two weeks ago our household was compacted into a truck (Thanks Asa and the other movers from TROSA!) and I was in the restricted world of the truck. When we arrived, church members and others (Thanks y'all!) unloaded most of our possesions into our split level townhouse-style apartment. The rest of our stuff we put in nearby storage. Its taken 3 weeks for process of the contraction of our household, then transporting it 1650 miles to its expansion in a smaller space, still ongoing.
We've had 3 snowfalls totaling less than 6 inches and 3 days of Spring during our ten days here. I've gotten out a bit, shopping and to storage to put more stuff there. On Monday, 2/28 I drove our new car (Subaru Forester, Thanks to Ann's parents Del and Shirley!) up from Greeley, CO through some beautiful Wyoming countryside.
About Chadron - it's a small town in high plains of the panhandle of western Nebraska. Two blocks from our home is the campus of Chadron State College with about 3,000 students. We're five minutes from anywhere in town, and then there's lots of countryside, both US Park and ranches. Pictures in this space soon. Google Chadron, NE 69337 for more of this type of info. The houses are mostly well maintained and of a wide variety of architectural styles, all mixed together. I sit at my desk and look out the window to a large hill behind the campus in the distance, and to the Missouri Synod Lutheran church across the backyard. Ann's church is a five minute walk away.
We've met very friendly folks in the church and the community. I feel there is possibility, even opportunity, for me for both relationship and employment. I have been spending most of my time alone, sometimes lonely. I've derived great comfort from the Buddhist notion of "just this", that in reality I am just who I am in this place right now. It seems fitting that I should feel sad at a time like this, missing loved ones and community. It is also liberating to meet people as just this person, no roles or personas to maintain. I am the pastor's spouse, so avoid public misbehavior, but that's the only role so far, and I don't feel restricted. It feels like this is a time to both settle in and to explore, so I'm doing my best to be open to what comes around in the process.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Driving and Arriving
We arrived in Chadron on Thursday, 2/24 around 4pm. The drive went pretty well up until near the end. We're now in our apartment surrounded by boxes, no surprise.
We left just one hour late on Monday and drove through West Virginia and stopped overnight in Chillicothe, OH. I really did relive my time in a truck, stopping at two favorite truck stops and re-learning how to drive a diesel truck up and down hills. Driving a truck really does take a lot of attention, keeping in the lane and up to speed. Over the three and a half days I was in a funny transition, residing in a familiar setting while leaving my old home for an unknown new one. When I tried to imagine living in Chadron, I found myself strongly disliking the idea. I wanted to live at home in Durham! I felt I was not giving this new experience a chance, so instead allowed myself to focus on the familiar, thus comforting, setting of the truck.
Two incidents stand out for the trip. The first happened on Tuesday near Covington, IN when police cars started zooming by us. We soon came to a stop behind a 1/4 mile long line of traffic and could see over a dozen police cars of all kinds and jurisdictions up ahead. Since I now had some time to set up the CB radio, I did and learned from the chatter a fugitive was being chased in the nearby wooded area. See the story here: http://tinyurl.com/47ptqpg . Very bizarre. Ann learned how useful, and obscene, CB radio chatter on the channel 19 can be.
The second incident was truly heartening. The truck started acting up when we started out on our final 1/2 day of travel Thursday in Oglalla, NE. We reached Oshkosh, NE and decided to seek a mechanic's opinion, and we were directed to Shannon, the only diesel mechanic for many miles around. He gave us an opinion, encouraged us to call Penske roadside assistance and talked with them, and was far beyond hospitable. He and his wife Melanie offered to let us wait in their house next door while we waited 2.5 hours for a tow truck to arrive, and we talked with them over lunch. They were so thoroughly kind, open and generous that we felt fortunate our truck had broken down! It truly was very real demonstration, and also like an omen, that we are welcome in Nebraska. A mechanic followed by a tow truck came up from Sydney, NE and was familiar with the fuel problem Shannon had diagnosed. This mechanic drove the truck to Chadron, after Ann and I had detached the car trailer and offloaded our car. We preceded the truck, and were able to open the apartment and get set by the time it arrived.
Folks from the church, and some high school students led by an experienced piano mover, offloaded us in 2 hours and left a warm meal for us in a crockpot. We ate and collapsed into bed, grateful for all the help we had recieved that day.
I'm feeling optimistic about being here, still in a learning frame of mind and absorbed in settling in. Unsurprisingly, each person we have met has been friendly and welcoming. While still feeling new to Chadron, I don't feel like a stranger.
We left just one hour late on Monday and drove through West Virginia and stopped overnight in Chillicothe, OH. I really did relive my time in a truck, stopping at two favorite truck stops and re-learning how to drive a diesel truck up and down hills. Driving a truck really does take a lot of attention, keeping in the lane and up to speed. Over the three and a half days I was in a funny transition, residing in a familiar setting while leaving my old home for an unknown new one. When I tried to imagine living in Chadron, I found myself strongly disliking the idea. I wanted to live at home in Durham! I felt I was not giving this new experience a chance, so instead allowed myself to focus on the familiar, thus comforting, setting of the truck.
Two incidents stand out for the trip. The first happened on Tuesday near Covington, IN when police cars started zooming by us. We soon came to a stop behind a 1/4 mile long line of traffic and could see over a dozen police cars of all kinds and jurisdictions up ahead. Since I now had some time to set up the CB radio, I did and learned from the chatter a fugitive was being chased in the nearby wooded area. See the story here: http://tinyurl.com/47ptqpg . Very bizarre. Ann learned how useful, and obscene, CB radio chatter on the channel 19 can be.
The second incident was truly heartening. The truck started acting up when we started out on our final 1/2 day of travel Thursday in Oglalla, NE. We reached Oshkosh, NE and decided to seek a mechanic's opinion, and we were directed to Shannon, the only diesel mechanic for many miles around. He gave us an opinion, encouraged us to call Penske roadside assistance and talked with them, and was far beyond hospitable. He and his wife Melanie offered to let us wait in their house next door while we waited 2.5 hours for a tow truck to arrive, and we talked with them over lunch. They were so thoroughly kind, open and generous that we felt fortunate our truck had broken down! It truly was very real demonstration, and also like an omen, that we are welcome in Nebraska. A mechanic followed by a tow truck came up from Sydney, NE and was familiar with the fuel problem Shannon had diagnosed. This mechanic drove the truck to Chadron, after Ann and I had detached the car trailer and offloaded our car. We preceded the truck, and were able to open the apartment and get set by the time it arrived.
Folks from the church, and some high school students led by an experienced piano mover, offloaded us in 2 hours and left a warm meal for us in a crockpot. We ate and collapsed into bed, grateful for all the help we had recieved that day.
I'm feeling optimistic about being here, still in a learning frame of mind and absorbed in settling in. Unsurprisingly, each person we have met has been friendly and welcoming. While still feeling new to Chadron, I don't feel like a stranger.
Monday, February 14, 2011
2/14/11
Before I get to be new to Nebraska, I get to be old to here. Before I get there, I have to leave here. And that's what I've been doing the past few days, and will for the next week.
My last day at Workplace Options was Thursday, 2/10/11. It was a valuable experience working there and I care for a bunch of people I worked with. Ann and I had a party on Saturday and lots of folks we know from our different local circles came. Like most people my age, I've left people and places before. One way of leave taking is to say goodbye and then do my best not to think of them or stay in touch. This goes along with not being willing to experience the pain of leaving. Another way is to feel bitter, sort of like "If you don't want me in your club, I don't want to be in your stinky old club anyway!". Not terribly mature, but still helpful in keeping some pain at a distance. Another way is to look someone in the eye and lettng them know you love them and will miss them and then you both can cry. I'm trying that out this time and it sucks at keeping the pain away. Good for appreciating who and what you are leaving, though.
So we are touching as much of here and all y'all as we can, filling our eyes and tasting and hearing as much as we can while getting the necessary done. I feel like a baloon expanding with love and anticipating letting all the air out when we land in Chadron. I'm just going to breathe in while here and hold my breath. I know I'll have to exhale at some point, but not just yet.
Before I get to be new to Nebraska, I get to be old to here. Before I get there, I have to leave here. And that's what I've been doing the past few days, and will for the next week.
My last day at Workplace Options was Thursday, 2/10/11. It was a valuable experience working there and I care for a bunch of people I worked with. Ann and I had a party on Saturday and lots of folks we know from our different local circles came. Like most people my age, I've left people and places before. One way of leave taking is to say goodbye and then do my best not to think of them or stay in touch. This goes along with not being willing to experience the pain of leaving. Another way is to feel bitter, sort of like "If you don't want me in your club, I don't want to be in your stinky old club anyway!". Not terribly mature, but still helpful in keeping some pain at a distance. Another way is to look someone in the eye and lettng them know you love them and will miss them and then you both can cry. I'm trying that out this time and it sucks at keeping the pain away. Good for appreciating who and what you are leaving, though.
So we are touching as much of here and all y'all as we can, filling our eyes and tasting and hearing as much as we can while getting the necessary done. I feel like a baloon expanding with love and anticipating letting all the air out when we land in Chadron. I'm just going to breathe in while here and hold my breath. I know I'll have to exhale at some point, but not just yet.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Moving to Chadron, Nebraska
Ann has received a call to be the minister of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chadron, NE 69337 and we intend to arrive there around February 25, 2011. My last day on staff at Workplace Options will be Thursday, February 10. Ann's ordination is here in Durham on February 19. Everything else is to be determined.
My intention is to post here occasionally to share this experience, with the hope of maintaining connection with you in at least this one way. I'm excited and scared, sort of cycling between these two common feelings that arise when making a big change. I like to write and I am concerned about feeling isolated in a new place, so this blog is a response to these feelings.
I invite you to do an internet search of Chadron, NE 69337 to learn in this way about where we are going. Ann and I visited there in early December, 2010 and learned enough to feel we could be happy there. I grew up and went to college in suburban New Jersey, lived in New York City for twenty years and in Durham, NC for the 17 or so years following that. None of those places is like Chadron. It's been fun confronting my biases and doing the accompanying reality check. Someone from Chadron made the comment that people are different in Chadron from the folks on the coasts. My immediate reaction was surprise that he would lump people from both the East and West coasts together, as I'm willing to bet few people from the coasts would do the same. The implication I take from this is us "coasters" look the same to him, just as all midwesterners frequently get lumped together by coasters. Nice little lesson.
We were universally welcomed on our visit there, and some opportunities for me were presented as possibilities. So right now, I'm on the excited end of the seesaw. I'll close now as I'm feeling crunched to do some more of the necessary tasks before we move.
My intention is to post here occasionally to share this experience, with the hope of maintaining connection with you in at least this one way. I'm excited and scared, sort of cycling between these two common feelings that arise when making a big change. I like to write and I am concerned about feeling isolated in a new place, so this blog is a response to these feelings.
I invite you to do an internet search of Chadron, NE 69337 to learn in this way about where we are going. Ann and I visited there in early December, 2010 and learned enough to feel we could be happy there. I grew up and went to college in suburban New Jersey, lived in New York City for twenty years and in Durham, NC for the 17 or so years following that. None of those places is like Chadron. It's been fun confronting my biases and doing the accompanying reality check. Someone from Chadron made the comment that people are different in Chadron from the folks on the coasts. My immediate reaction was surprise that he would lump people from both the East and West coasts together, as I'm willing to bet few people from the coasts would do the same. The implication I take from this is us "coasters" look the same to him, just as all midwesterners frequently get lumped together by coasters. Nice little lesson.
We were universally welcomed on our visit there, and some opportunities for me were presented as possibilities. So right now, I'm on the excited end of the seesaw. I'll close now as I'm feeling crunched to do some more of the necessary tasks before we move.
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