home There's something strange happening in the town of Stepford: My take on the culture of suburbia. Loyalty: Why I stay, and why it's a core value for me. contact me at: justin (@) deepdrift dot com Comments GyozaQuest is a non profitable site,	Friends Long past I say a tribute to all the friends whom I've known here in Boston who've left. Every year, I plant a few more rosebushes in my front yard. I always thought roses were a great metaphor for life itself. That in the middle of the winter, after being covered with snow, even driven over with my car. Somehow, despite the neglect, some of them still seem to bloom in the spring. I guess when the snow melts, I'll be planting a lot more rosebushes out front in my yard. That is all the rosebushes except for that pedigreed, expensive rosebush I planted for a good friend, who promised me that he'd never leave, because where else would he go. Of course he left, spent some time in Thailand scuba diving, came back. Promised that there was no place he'd ever go. Then eventually left again last year. Stinking fool... I guess it's fitting what happened to that plant. I nurtured it, planted it almost in front so everyone could see it. And despite it being highly visible, and highly pedigreed, thus with the potential to be the finest rosebush of my whole garden. It didn't amount to squat. They've left to the corners of the earth. New York City Washington DC Chicago Ithaca NY Dallas TX Logan UT San Francisco Hong Kong Shanghai London Somalia Croatia Turkey China Mongolia and now Kuwait Not to mention the flight attendant, who knows where he is now... So I await where I will head next. The nature of the city The big city can be a horribly impersonal rushed and impersonal place. While one gets used to the rudeness of drivers on the highway, and becomes rather immune, if not partaking in the mayhem of bad behavior (honking and other forms of aggression and displeasure) in a car there's a defined space separating the individual from the outside world, with thousands of pounds of metal and glass. Even without a steely cold blue filter, no blowing wind, no bitter cold, or eerie mechanical silence; Still the feeling of somber emptiness permeates the big city. From riding the train I guess it's fitting epitome of the city, a commuter train station in the evening. It is without comfort, a place one goes to only because it's the way of the world. Is there joy in the subway. Only a cold impersonal joy. Although the photo is actually from Tokyo, and yes that's a female train conductor, the sense of emptiness permeates all big cities. The big city has it's own sense of personal space. If you've ever seen the zonked out, glazed over look of a harried commuter in the morning. Or better yet, been part of the mad rush, as it silently shuffles by on it's way to work. The city is a product of the fall. Where Cain fled to after killing his brother, where the tower of Babel was destroyed. But I live in the city anyways. Why... I don't really know anymore The only reasons I got for living here - It's part of God's plan. Are we simply here because of it? what is the redeeming value in cities. Diversity, a city is where the masses come together, and where people learn to get along Updated 4/17/2003