Why I live here.

Sorry the old Pollywog has been absent for a while. School started and then the stomach flu hit. I had one of those lovely moments where you feel you either have to start feeling better or die and honestly, you don't really care which way it goes. I would have been happy with either. Luckily, better was the way it went.

Reason for this post. I have recently been reflecting on why I live in my little mountain town. There has been a recent mass exodus to the big city by many young people seeking a better financial situation. It's true. My little town has a high cost of living, ridiculous real estate prices and low wages. I could make more money doing exactly what I do somewhere else. But there are many reasons I stay. Here a couple:

1. Right now, it is dumping snow. It's a fairly good storm and the second we've had. The first dumped about 2 feet of snow in 24 hours. Here's what I love. No one is complaining. At all. We love it. After the last storm, boyfriend and I decided not to dig the car out and walk to work. Being as the sidewalks were gone, we strolled down the middle of the street. Lots of neighbors were out shoveling. Was anyone complaining? No. Topics of discussion: How the snow was going to make the wildflowers amazing this spring. How the summer was going to be great. How the local ski resort will finally have a good season. No complaints. Snow is like a holiday around here.

2. I looked up from my desk on Wednesday and a good friend who lives in Ohio stood before me. Surprise. I've known him for probably about 10 years. I was introduced to him by my college roommate. How does this relate to my town? It turns out almost everyone I know knows him. It's fascinating to see the different connections. Boyfriend knows him from another friend of his. This other friend of his used to be my neighbor, which is how I knew him. Everyone in this town is one or two degrees of seperation. Another example, a coworker of mine won tickets to a concert on a local radio call-in thing. I know the deejay. When my coworker won, I was in the Caribbean. My coworker said where she worked and the deejay, on air, asked her if she was jealous of me being in the Caribbean. (I love that it was announced on the radio that I was on vacation.) Anyway, my coworker replied that she wasn't not jealous because she had just returned from Grand Cayman, where her two sons live, one of which we had dinner with while we were there. See? All connected.

I could go on and on. Point is I love it here and I will be devastated if it comes to the point I can't live here anymore which is a real threat. I have no idea where I will go. Do they need a librarian in Mayberry?

Molly spoke in class today

I just ran into a rare occurence. Didn't occur to me until five minutes ago. What are the odds of a musician staying around long enough to satisfy your headbanging needs at 19 but provide you with haunting melodies when you are 34? Don't see that much, do ya? But it's happened.

And who is this mystery fella? It's Mr. Eddie Vedder. I was just watching the video to Guaranteed from the Into the Wild soundtrack and thinking this:

The voices in Pollywog's head:
Voice 1: What a gorgeous melody.

Voice 2: What a gorgeous man.

Voice 1: What?

Voice 2: Eddie. Still gorgeous.

Voice 1: Oh my god, he is still gorgeous. I love him just as much but in a whole different way.

Voice 2: That's because at 19 you were attracted to his anger and his bad boy ways because you yourself were angry but now you are older and wiser and mellower and he has mellowed with you. Now you are attracted to him because you respect him and his music.

Voice 1: Yep, still wanna do him, though.

Voice 2: Me too. Pollywog. Me too.

But it's all true. I was sooooooooooo in love with him at 19. I even tried to look like him. I wore a lot of flannel and wore my hair hanging in my eyes. Even had the green army jacket. I'd crank my Pearl Jam cassette tape in my Ford Escort and bang head thus flinging aforementioned hair. If anyone can locate my good friend, Bob, of the time, he can confirm this.

I saw Eddie on something the other day with Sean Penn talking about the movie and I thought. "Wow, this guy really seems to have it together."

My god, I'm old. But it's okay. So is he.


Oh, and btw, news flash. I just saw Sinead O'Connor on the telly. She looks like shit. Just so you know.