Thursday, April 07, 2005

GATED COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE GATES

IF I WERE TO PUT A 'YOU ARE HERE' DOT ON A MAP, AND DRAW A CIRCLE AROUND THAT DOT, TAKING IN THE RANGE OF MY DAILY AND TYPICAL LIFE, THAT CIRCLE WOULD ENCOMPASS A SMALL WORLD. THE HOUSE, THE SHOPPING, THE OFFICE, THE SCHOOL, THE RESTAURANTS, ALL, WOULD BE WITHIN A SMALL RING. MOST OF MY FRIENSHIPS, ( MY CIRCLE OF FRIENDS ), DEVELOPED WITHIN IT.
EXCLUDE THE OCCASIONAL EXCURSIONS OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE...THAT TRIP TO BRAZIL OR THE JOURNEY IN WEST AFRICA, BRIEF EXCEPTIONS BOTH, AND THE CIRCLE OF MY LIFE IS TINY.
I LIVE IN A COCOON. A BUBBLE.
MOST OF US DO.
WE STRAY VERY LITTLE BEYOND THE ANCHOR-POINT OF OUR LIVES, AND WHEN WE DO, IT'S IN THE CAPSULE OF OUR CARS. OUR HOMES EXPAND AS OUR CONTACT WITH THE WORLD CONTRACTS. FRONT PORCHES HAVE BECOME UNUSED ARCHITECTURAL STATEMENTS WITH THE A/C ON INSIDE.
OUR NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE PEOPLE WHO CAN AFFORD TO LIVE IN THEM. THERE'S AN IMPLIED COMMONALITY, A LIKEMINDEDNESS, BY THE VERY ACT OF CHOOSING ( OR BEING LIMITED ) TO LIVE IN A PLACE. IT'S LIKE A GATED COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE GATES.

IT'S BEEN SAID THAT NEW YORK IS NOT A BIG CITY BUT ACTUALLY A BUNCH OF SMALL NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE PEOPLE LIVE.

NEXT: HOW DOES THIS AFFECT US?

15 comments:

quicksand said...

DR. BLIX, I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE....( ALTHOUGH YOUR SPELLING OF 'NEIGHBOUR' TELLS ME THAT YOU'RE NOT FROM THE SOUTH BRONX, AS AM I ).
I'M ASSUMING THAT YOU'RE NOT HANS BLIX...BUT YOU ARE SOMETHING. ALWAYS MAKING INCITEFUL POINTS. I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT YOUR COMMENTS ARE EXACTLY WHERE I WAS PLANNING ON TAKING THIS. I WASN'T. I PLAN ON GOING OUTWARD FROM THE 'CIRCLE' WHILE YOU LOOKED INWARD.
YES, FRONT PORCHES ARE GONE. AIR CONDITIONING IS IN. WE ARE A BIT LIKE I-POD-WEARING PODS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXCELLENT COMMENTS.

Purple Haze said...

Mr Quicksand, I can't hardly believe that you spelled COCOON wrong--however your view on life is most astute--my radius is quite a bit larger tham yours as I live 37 miles from home to work. I hope to travel up-island a lot less when I retire (like you) and I often wonder if the fabric of my life will shrink as does my mileage?

quicksand said...

I LIVE IN A SPELLING COCOON. NEVER JOINED IN WITH THE SPELLERS ON THE PLAYGROUND.

MilesDavis said...

Dear Quicksand, I think that when I retire my mileage may in fact also shrink... (Gee, I hope nothing else shrinks...like my brain?)Anyway, we can expand our sojourns by taking monthly little adventures! nothing too grandiose..like on Saturday I visited Washington Sq. Sat on a bench on a lovely spring morning and watched the dogs romp together in a dog run. All was sublime until I witnessed a Pit bull attack and rip off the ear of a sweet little terrier...Yipes!

quicksand said...

IT USED TO BE FREE-RANGE CHILHOOD.
IT SLOWLY AND STEADILY BECAME... SUNSCREEN...WATCH OUT FOR TICKS...
THEWEATHER'S TOO HOT... OR COLD ...ALLERGENS
...LAWSUITS...ANTIBIOTICS...
SUSPICION...ESTEEM.
WE'RE TALKING WHITEBREAD WITHOUT THE CRUSTS.
PIT BULL AND TERRIER...WHICH POLITICAL PARTY DOES EACH BELONG TO?

MilesDavis said...

I don't know Mr.Blix. I consider my world pretty damn good so far and recently it's gotten better. As for the occassional random acts of violence..you can keep em. I don't need to see em first hand to know they exist. Hey, I really like this discourse! Thanks Quicksand!!!

MilesDavis said...

Dear Hans, I truly enjoy reading what you have to say. It's good exercise for my somewhat feeble brain. But Switzerland neutral? Weren't they involved in money laundering of billions of dollars of assets illegally seized from Jews during the holocaust? And no works of Art from Switzerland? Mr. Blix, have you ever slipped a Rolex or Philippe Patek on your wrist? Truly a work to behold and not just for keeping track of the time.

quicksand said...

PHILIPPE PATEK ? WHAT DOES A TIGHT-ROPE WALKER HAVE TO DO WITH THIS DISCUSSION?

quicksand said...

YOU HEARD OF CALVIN AND HOBBES...


OR WAS IT ....

JOHN LOCKE AND THOMAS HOBBES

MilesDavis said...

Oh come now Hans, you've really lost it. Is there really a difference in a country's official policy and what its private citizens and corporations do? Explain The role of Haliburton and our recent bullshit enterprise into Iraq. Also, Art and it's appreciation is purely subjective and your labeling Swiss watches as merely "commercial products" show a naivete as to what constites art. Most art, even art that was encouraged by the church was at some point "commercial"(Case in point..Faberge) Gee...I don't feel so dumb after all....thanks Hans!!!!

MilesDavis said...

P.S. Hey Hans...How the fuck do you know what people will be going to see 100 or 400 years from now???
Separation between private industry and government policy??? Look up ..Industrial Military Complex... Sport.

MilesDavis said...

Please excuse my rashness and use of expletives on the last comment, But I would gladly trade all the artwork in Florence for the life of one child needlessly killed in an air attack in Iraq.

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