I've been in Philadelphia since Wednesday with a student honors conference. I haven't gotten any sleep to make up for the fifteen hour train ride from Kentucky.
But . . . here we go!
Gotta Love Philly. It's just a relief to see so many people who aren't white and straight. Morehead is 98% white. In Center City Philadelphia, there can't be more than 6 whites out of 10 people you see. And a lot of the white guys are gay, especially in the area near the archives where there is a mostly gay gym.
But who said that ethnicity is everything. Not me. Morehead State University is a real "trudging" kind of town. Students move with about as much enthusiasm as the guys playing concentration camp prisoners in Nazi movies. Outside campus, there's a kind of Eastern Kentucky "I'm not in a hurry because I don't want anybody to know that I give a shit" depression and slowness. In Philly, the only people who have that determined slowness might be sitting beggars. Otherwise, there's a bounce and energy to movement that puts a little more bounce into my step.
Gotta love it.
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4 comments:
I'm really sorry you didn't make it to the Philly Phraymeet [and hugfest!].
I had a list about 3 weeks long of things to do and see in Philladelphia [courtesy of rundeep], and three days to do it all.
First on the list was free admission to the art museum on Sunday morning, and I followed rundeep's directions to the letter [I thought]. Somehow I ended up in a very non-white section of town, where your phrase "Fallujahs as far as the eye can see" would have been so very apt. Except for one thing: every few blocks, where one building had been torn down, the freed wall sported a mural two, three or four stories tall.
They were absolutely fabulous murals, beautifully done, and not a single one of them had a "white man" theme. Most were African-American subjects, and one or two reminded me of South and Central American art.
I was in heaven. I'm sorry to have missed the art museum, but I've always liked getting completely lost in new places. This was the best one yet.
Thanks for the comments Hipparchia. I'm really glad to see that you've found my blog.
I would have given my right arm to be up at the Fraymeet and I was still thinking of making the 10 hour drive on the day of the event.
But, maybe next time.
And you're right. Philly is great. I'm hoping to spend a month doing research there next summer.
Best,
Ric
Ok, now I'm jealous. A whole month in Philly? I'd just about give my right arm to be able to do that. I think you might need a research assistant. Surely your research project has room in it for an add-oh: The Murals of Little Phallujah.
Seriously though, if you do get to do that, you should let the Philly PhrayMistresses know about it. I'd happily drive up there for another fraymeet [providing no hurricanes are headed my way at the time].
Definitely! There's a lot of Philadelphia-area fraysters I'd like to meet.
And I'll have time. The archives generally close around five.
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