a place out of time

[15_the_circle]

[OT from cottage renovations]

the notion of the Grove as a place out of time has been much in my thoughts lately though I've written more about it in comment threads on others' journals than in this space [I think they might be FO but I'll check and if that's not the case I can edit this to include references]. 

it goes beyond the usual temporal dislocation that accompanies any historical research (past stretching into and overlaying onto the present) or construction project (future and present separated by an amorphous divide in which time enters a limbo state).  rather, it's an anachronistic blend of patterns that emerge from both past and present in such a way that neither is a completely dominant reality. 

the Grove and its setting retain a great deal from the past: not just our little cottages nestled under large Oak trees and surrounded by woods, but also what it allows in ways of looking at things and of interacting with others and with our environment.  it's enough of a difference that it is possible to immerse one's self into it, and having done so there's not a lot of reason to emerge from it.  makes for an excellent cocoon, I guess, and for different reasons and in different ways I have had and continue to have great need of that. 

the process of giving up on this world is more than a little selective: no need to do without central air conditioning and broadband internet access for more computers than I care to enumerate (hey, they're all doing something else they wouldn't be there).  and it's not completely painless: there are some things my small part of the Grove provides exposure to rather than protection from, in a way that prevents healing and closes off any prospect for relief.  but then nor should one put up with television, or with traffic, or with big box retail, or with any of the multitude of bothersome aspects of George Bush's America.  I sure don't miss any of that. 

Comments

Oh, stop

[(Anonymous)]

You're welcome to blame George Bush for just about everything from hurricanes to terrorism, but I do believe that big-box retailing does predate his election.

Re: Oh, stop

[(Anonymous)]

I do not believe that the text indicated that Bush was being blamed for any of his America; rather, "Bush's America" is merely a label, no more than a caption to a picture labels a scene to being "A Streetcorner" or "Man Who Walks Lonely in a Park." It is the snapshot to a time period, not the cause, and perhaps not even an effect.

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

I don't actually think I need to stop anything; I didn't blame big box retail on GWB. 

I will admit that I despise the fellow, and that I reject his works and all that he stands for; just as anybody else you are free to admire him and to embrace those same works and whatever it is that he means to you.  I wish you the full joy of it but do not have a way to engage with it myself.  that we disagree on this is not actually very interesting to me: we have held these contrary views for decades now and neither of us is likely to convince the other to change.  I'm certainly not asking you to do anything of the kind. 

it is other aspects of who you are and where you are heading that are far more appealing. 

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and now a question: do you have your papers all in order yet?  that particular inbound signed one is the one I had in mind ...