sense of place
last weekend, nate and i drove up to st cloud for an undisclosed event. we spent the night, only having a little more than 24 hours in the town. it was pretty weird seeing the transformation not of the land but of nate as well. friday afternoon we took a little driving tour, swinging out to st joe for lunch at bodiddleys, then seeing what the old homestead looked like (the same). drove through st cloud to downtown, then back again, seeing what was the same and what was different. what used to be and what’s going to be. after checking in at the hotel, a visit with my grandma, and a visit to the grande depot, nate and i went to granite city for supper, watching the sun set about 15 minutes later than it does here. and the whole time, nate exclaimed over and over: “what is it about this place.”
indeed. what is it about this place?
is it familiar? the trees? the fact that farmland is mixed with pastureland, mixed with woodland, mixed with urban areas? there is no abundance of corn? the horizon is never technically seen, always obscured by trees? the lakes? the fact that you might see a lake from the highway, then another over there? the openness of the town? organization? the atmosphere?
i don’t know. but i miss it.