Monday, 23 December 2002
Locusts!
In the ten years that I lived there, the southwest Chicago suburbs consumed
nearby farmland like a starving man at a pie-eating contest. Armies of houses
marched across the plain, marking off new subdivisions as fast as the
bulldozers and pavers could build streets; for a while my friend Tim lived in a
cul-de-sac whose street names all started with "J", to distinguish it from the
cookie-cutter "H" and "K" enclaves on either side.
When I last visited two years ago, Tim and family had just moved into a
development so new that it didn't have paved roads yet. Now this "new" area
has everything short of its own monorail: Schools,
supermarkets, restaurants and shopping malls have all sprung fully formed out
of the prairie, serving up fast food and 24-hour grocery shopping to the
voracious suburban horde.
I did notice that the American flag is flying a lot more often than it was two
years ago—it isn't like there's red-white-and-blue bunting on every
doorstep, but it's definitely a change from when I last visited (July 2001).
Call me sentimental, but I like it, especially coming back from overseas where
seeing your own country's flag is a rarity.
- Posted by Scott Forbes at 9:44 pm. comments.
Monday, 23 December 2002
Homeland insecurity.
Whenever I come back to the USA after a trip overseas, I always think to myself
that I should kiss the ground when I arrive. It's theatrical, I know, but it's
also an expression of love for my country, and I always feel like I should do
it.
And then I arrive at LAX, and the feeling goes away. I'd be eating some
exciting new polymers and carpet fuzz, to say the least. (Not that I can think
of other airports where I'd feel any better about kissing the carpet, but after
three years of flying to Australia and back, I associate LAX with twelve-hour
plane rides and badly needing a shower.)
Boarding the flight in Sydney, I went through at least three layers of security
to ensure that I didn't morph into Osama between baggage check and the
departing gate. (How would this have stopped the terrorists?) I also left my
pocketknife at home, figuring that I'd forget to check it at some point, and
then I'd need a new pocketknife. (How again would this make me more secure?)
I know that Something Had To Be Done, the Public Confidence Must Be Restored,
etc., but none of this crap makes me feel any safer. The only thing that makes
me feel secure is the knowledge that my fellow passengers and I will beat the
living daylights out of anyone who tries to hijack the plane.
- Posted by Scott Forbes at 4:06 am. comments.
