eϊθε γενοίμην . . . .would I were
In Grantchester, in Grantchester !—
Some, it may be, can get in touch
With Nature there, or Earth, or such.
And clever modern men have seen
A Faun a-peeping through the green,
And felt the Classics were not dead,
To glimpse a Naiad’s reedy head,
Or hear the Goat-foot piping low: . . .
But these are things I do not know.
(Excerpt from “The Old Vicarage, Grantchester” by Rupert Brooke)
There’s a reason I haven’t really posted about Houston life here. I don’t like it. There; I’ve said it. I can walk in the private park of our gated building, but if I want to get outside the gates I have to take a taxi because walking or cycling is neither pleasant nor safe in Houston. I’ve been hit by cars a total of 11 times in Houston – and fortunately I haven’t been injured any of those times, but it does make me feel rather unsafe venturing outside the gates.
I take a taxi to go to the supermarket, even if I just need a bottle of milk. While that does mean that a bottle of milk can be rather pricey, I don’t want to drink my coffee without milk. And I can’t safely walk or bike the 1.5 miles to the supermarket; God knows I’ve tried…
A flâneur who can’t walk anywhere is hardly a flâneur at all. And a gardener with no soil is hardly a gardener at all.
Soren, When i was first out of college, I moved to southern California where my then-husband was stationed in the military. People in southern California generally assumed that they were living in paradise and that everyone wanted to live there. I tried to enjoy what I could of the experience (like being able to have fresh flowers in the house year-round), but the truth was that I didn’t like it. We lived just a few miles from the beach, but we almost never went there because the strong currents made swimming an unpleasant experience. (If you wanted to swim, you went to a pool.) I longed for the seasonal changes of my native New England. When my husband finished his military service, we happily moved back to New England. Is your sojourn in Houston a temporary one? I can hear the longing for Denmark in your words.
My husband’s contract is a permanent one, so while we definitely intend to return to Denmark at some point there is really no telling exactly when that will happen.
I’ve done my best to fall in love with Houston but to no avail; I ended up extending my Christmas vacation in Denmark from 2 to 6 weeks, just to have as much time as possible away from here. Time to walk in the pretty streets of Copenhagen, time to sit and watch the fire in the summer house, time to see friends and family… And now I look forward to taking a spring vacation in Denmark in March. So yes, there is a definite longing. I long for the North and for that sense of being grounded or rooted that the garden gives me.
Oh I am sorry your stay has not been pleasant at all. I do hope you can find some ways to enjoy parts of your stay and as you say, you are visiting home for long periods to help.
Just happened by here Søren– I’ve not read or written online in a long time. I’m terribly sorry to find you unhappy in Huston. (I would be unhappy in Huston.) A transfer to Portland, Oregon would be a hugely better fit. Wish I could make that happen for you. -L