Blizzard Warning

We are under a blizzard warning where I live. If not for that warning, I would be at work right now. But, if there is a blizzard and I had gone to work, I would not be able to come home until Friday am. So I had a chat with the boss and so I am at home.

I'm feeling kinda lonely though. No matter where I would have been today, either at work or at home, I could not celebrate the new president elect. My husband thinks that Al-Quieda will strike at will because he doesn't care about security (which Gen Powell effectively has repudiated); the people at work think he is the anti-Christ predicted in Revelation. I tried to talk to a friend on the phone with similar political leanings today and each time either my husband was in the room or someone came to the door.

Makes me think about the places I would be if not for my relationships. If I owed no one a thing, I would live in Vermont. A few years ago we started out for a trip to Maine. We got as far as Vermont and stopped, staying there for two weeks. To me it is a magical place. I like the vibe found there, where there are community meetings and people rely on each other. I also like Green Mountain Coffee, Magic Hat Beer, and Cabot Cheese, all made in VT. I like the fact it has mountains and it has water. It is a lovely, inspiring place.

Yeah, if I could choose anywhere to live without thinking about other people, I'd live in VT.

If I could live anywhere I wanted without having to consider Taciturn, I'd live in Columbia, MO, by Only Son and the Grandchildren. Even though Only Son and I have serious disagreements in both politics and religious practice, I need to be with him and his family at least 3 to 4 times a year. But in Columbia, a town with 3 colleges/universities, there is plenty to do besides play with the grandkids. There is an amazing trail system that allows one to ride a bike or run from one's house clear to St. Charles, just outside St. Louis. There are lovely parks no matter where one lives in town. Basically, there is anything anyone wants, including a revitalized downtown.

But I don't live in either of those places. I live in "what is mine is mine, if you need help screw you" South Dakota, where most downtowns are rotting, people don't speak to each other except to tell others how to live their lives (to a point), and where education is valued not at all. Our teachers are on food stamps, and judging from the letters to the editor in the paper, most begrudge teachers even the pittance they make. This is where a huge church in a supposedly progressive town advertises that "if you are looking for mystery, don't come here."

What a crappy place to live. If I didn't love my husband, I would have been gone from here long ago.

But, we do have nice scenery. This is a great place to visit. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is absolutely all. (That is enough for Taciturn, which is why we are here.)

Look at the election results. Except for the rejected abortion ban (people here hate government interference), the story is all there plain for all to see.

And a blizzard is coming.