More Misc. V-2nd. The profaning of The Street

[Ian Livingston]

Like Page, I am not a city person. My nearest neighbor is six miles
west. However, I live as caretaker to a community of Buddhists who
live in almost complete isolation from one another and from me. And,

Oh. We just had a nice little earthquake. Felt like about a 4.0.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. The thus individualized Buddhists go through
very interesting periods of adjustment when they enter retreat, and
some never manage to make the transition into solitude. Some have gone
quite mad, talking to people not present and receiving instructions on
how to do retreat from an "inner guru" who has them doing very
unlikely practices. One Taiwanese nun actually died as a result of
listening to that "inner guru." Still others take out all their
insecurities and personal resentments on the caretaker, who is their
only point of contact with the world. Each one adapts according to his
or her personal history, emphasizing to me the proposition that no
matter how alone we are, we remain a part of society. I think that can
be turned around quite successfully. Having spent a few periods in
cities (Minneapolis, New Orleans, Seattle), burbs (Burien, Aptos), and
towns (Vermillion, SD; Stevens Point, WI; Merced and Ben Lomond, CA)
and in a number of rural and remote locations, I have also had the
opportunity to watch how my own mind responds to changes in population
density. I much prefer solitude to the loneliness of anonymity in
crowds, but I know that it has quite a lot to do with the state of
mind in which I enter each mise en scene, as it were.

The street once entranced, and later revolted me. Now I feel somewhat
indifferent to it. The street is a tool, a way of getting things done,
that's all. I know streets where no one walks and others where no one
drives, everyone walks.

Pynchon was a city kid, and I think his view of streets would reflect
that. To Benny, it seems a point of reference. The middle way. There
is an above the street, the street, and a below the street. What does
that tell us about P. and the street?

On Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 6:28 AM, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
> Stoop sitting was a big thing in Brooklyn years ago within generally
> homogeneous communities and in some communities it still is. I'm
> guessing its pbly been a part of the culture in New Orleans alot
> longer with alot more mixing going on.
>
> rich
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 8:46 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> New Orleans is a much smaller city than Brooklyn, but it's people
>> aren't anonymous, and people are everywhere you look, even in the hot
>> humidity of the Summer.  I've lived in cities and suburbs across the
>> US (Air force brat), but I've never lived in a place so open or been
>> this close to so many of my neighbors.  New Orleans is the most
>> neighborhoody place ever, and has a tradition of being on the street,
>> stoop-sitting, porch-sitting, corner-hanging, dog-walking.
>>
>> This video, "Stoop Sitting," is real New Orleans:
>> http://vimeo.com/5526305
>>
>



-- 
"liber enim librum aperit."