Greetings from the Western Front! Tuesday, October 31, 2006

A New Yorker friend of mine sent this article about Omaha vs. New York. It's on the money... almost...
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/29/opinion/29dooling.html?ex=1162789200&en=faedc653114c6ae2&ei=5070&emc=eta1

This past weekend we went to Minneapolis to see Sam & Jeff, Geli, Benjamin, . It was a 6 1/2 hour drive from Omaha through Iowa (yawn!) and we wanted to be with Geli for her birthday (read between the lines.... I am miserable and I wanted to see Sam because I knew she'd have a better attitude than me!). Sophie decided she wanted a "bag potty" like David's and it was a good thing we did as Sophie used it three times before we even got to Des Moines, the half way point. Picture us, in the big bad Volvo, pulling off the highway onto a dirt road, setting up the potty, and Sophie doing her thing in the mist of the corn. Check out our web site for pictures in the next few days.

Anyway, we arrived Friday night, went to the hotel, slept, and then went to Sam's on Saturday morning. The kids played, and I relished in some normalcy... seeing a friend's new home with the same old furniture and toys that had been in Charlestown. We walked into the little town center with the kids dressed up in costumes, and they trick-or-treated at the coffee shops and boutiques. People in Minneapolis had Mountain Buggy Strollers, Muslim women wore scarves, and I heard some different languages that I hadn't heard since I left Boston. I felt more comfortable than I have in the 4 weeks since I left Mecca, eh, I mean Boston. And if Sam can assimilate, I can too... right? Ummmmm..........

After we said our goodbyes on Sunday (and hard to beleive, I left Sam without sobbing my eyes out!), we drove back through Iowa and stopped in Madison County to see the famed "Bridges". It was very cool and the girls had a good time running back and forth. I must say, surprisingly, Iowa is very beautiful in it's natural landscape with its rolling hills, fields, and farm houses.

As we were crossing over the border to Nebraska it dawned on me why I am having such a hard time here.....

- Omaha has no charm whatsoever and no interesting landscape either. There are only chain stores and strip malls, Applebee's and Pier One. Save the miscellaneous corn field, the terrain consists of "subdivisions" with identical houses. Can you envision me yawning?
- Omaha has museums and a great zoo, but to me, 3/4 of the experience is getting there. In Omaha, the kids just ride in the car, and don't experience the world like they did in Boston, riding the T, taking the boat, or just walking through town.
- Omaha has very nice people, but they are all white, middle class, and English speaking. I really valued the diversity that we saw every day in Boston. My kids need to know that everyone in the world is not like them, but everyone is entitled to respect and a friendly "good morning".
- Omaha has lots of grass, but the houses are all on tiny lots and you feel like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, trapped! So, where's the value?
- Omaha has lots of families, but no one shows up at the park to play. They all have play dates in the house. You schedule a playdate with one other child, and then half the time someone has to cancel (kids get sick, late naps, no naps, etc). What's more, because the kids have never played in groups, they don't share or take turns. Even the most possessive kid in Charlestown would be horrified with the lack of manners and the sense of entitlement that I've seen here.
- Omaha has one block of cute shopping downtown far from any residential area. That's is. See my point?
- The taxes in Omaha are at least twice what we paid in Boston. The theory is that the schools are good, so you use them. But, there are some highly taxed neighborhoods where you wouldn't want to send your kids to public school. I don't get it, but I do know that lots of people were using the public schools in Charlestown, and were very pleased.

So, despite the crime, the parking, and the crazy city politics, Boston is still my spiritual home, and think that Charlestown is a really wonderful place to have a family. My kids flourished there, and were becoming worldly little people. Maybe I will be better off once we sell our house, and buy something here (if we go down that route) but at this point, I'm not seeing the value.

So, that's the news from here. I miss you all, and my life in Boston. I sadly recall the wonderful picture I'll keep in my mind forever of sailing with friends to Provincetown, and that view when you can look west and just see Boston, and look east and see P-town. THAT was living!