tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post3891187858690589363..comments2023-05-22T03:04:42.242-05:00Comments on Dame Eleanor Hull: Putting down rootsDame Eleanor Hullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-25856594885941041612009-08-12T19:25:00.886-05:002009-08-12T19:25:00.886-05:00Dr V: yes, it's that elemental, visceral thing...Dr V: yes, it's that elemental, visceral thing that gets me. I *know* how financially impossible CA is, & I remain enchanted with fireflies, which were critters from books for me; but the sense of place works on me anyway. When I was in grad school, I heard a sermon on place, and staying where you grew up, & I thought, "How stupid! Most of the congregation is students; are you saying we shouldn't be here to study?" but over the years it has echoed. I thought I could go anywhere and adapt, but I'm less adaptable than my younger self thought.Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-20968218458721525382009-08-12T17:41:34.534-05:002009-08-12T17:41:34.534-05:00Hm, what does it mean that I miss night-blooming j...Hm, what does it mean that I miss night-blooming jasmine and bougainvillea but wouldn't move back to LA for a million bucks. (OK, maybe a million bucks... a *year* that is. And maybe somewhere in SoCal other than LA.)<br /><br />But more seriously, I didn't realize how much I missed certain flora and fauna in the midwest until I moved back. And then, oh! Fall foliage and spring daffodils break my heart with their magic every year! And lightening bugs and cicadas in the summer make me feel like all is right in the world. And it's meteorological, too -- I love a summer thunderstorm or those gigantic fluffy clouds in an azure blue midwestern sky. Oh, and robins and bluejays and cardinals, oh my!<br /><br />But the place I grew up is a 12 hour drive away from here (and it has a slightly different flora and fauna -- but much is the same), so it's not about *here* exactly. It *is* about an eco-system so similar to the one I grew up in for 18 years. And that was a place I wanted to get away from, too, just like you wanted to get away from yours. So isn't it weird that we feel such an *elemental* connection to these places?Dr. Viragohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960384082670286328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-57171074236269325182009-08-12T16:57:37.275-05:002009-08-12T16:57:37.275-05:00Exactly -- the status of the To depends on the Fro...Exactly -- the status of the To depends on the From. Or is that not what you meant?meghttp://xom.blogs.com/xoomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-18145818742425401622009-08-12T14:50:02.300-05:002009-08-12T14:50:02.300-05:00Meg, I think California is the earthly paradise an...Meg, I think California is the earthly paradise and so of course you adapted just fine . . . except that this isn't true for everyone. I have a good friend, a dyed-in-the-wool New Englander, who hated living in CA. Hated.it. She understands my feeling of uprootedness, but only through a very different place.Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-14959522535257863122009-08-12T10:53:22.466-05:002009-08-12T10:53:22.466-05:00Perhaps it depends on the From and To points?
I...Perhaps it depends on the From and To points? <br /><br />I don't really miss anything about my home state, although I'm fond of it. California has become my real home by now, and its biota seem natural to me.<br /><br />Or maybe it's just me.meghttp://xom.blogs.com/xoomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-15754129985647737412009-08-12T08:15:17.792-05:002009-08-12T08:15:17.792-05:00I know what you mean about certain plants simply f...I know what you mean about certain plants simply feeling "right." I am never happier than when I am in the midst of pine trees: the smell, the sound of the wind in the needles, the dryness of the air where they grow. It instantly makes me feel "at home." But it lasts only as long as I do not have to connect to anyone. I knew immediately what you meant when you asked if you could return to where you grew up and feel different; I can't. As soon as I am in the midst of these old scents, I start falling back into the person I was then. Sometimes this is good, but at others it is suffocating and all I want to do is come home, to this place where none of the plants seem right but the people do.Fencing Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16825525662123382529noreply@blogger.com