home and such

So today Gilly and I began looking at lots of photos from wherever we call home and I tried desperately to convince her that Cleveland and Ann Arbor were infinitely better than anywhere in Scotland (which is hard enough to lie to myself about let alone convincing another person) and I tried looking up photos of these glorious spots in the midwest and ended up with a lot of photos of fires. Which, when I think of it, makes sense. I feel like there were a lot of fires in Cleveland. And I never really thought about it before. I don't know that I would say it's like a defining trait or anything...but I guess things do burn down with some level of consistency.

Anyway-looking at these photos made me think about these places. And the way the air feels that first warm day when spring is about to come and there's still patches of snow on the ground but you still bike around in your t-shirt and you're pretty cold but feeling pretty great at the same time and there's a chill in your lungs that is simply delicious.

Cleveland: finding those strange moments of the city where it looks utterly beautiful in its sad post-steel days. The moss over the bridges. The ever-elusive "art bridge" where it was written that "gray is an ugly color" after everything got painted over. The top of the parking lot where kate and i read rude 14th century poetry. The west side where I feel like I'm not in the same city anymore and where you can find that random art gallery and see Birth for the first time. Lake View Cemetery and every minute I used to spend with my mother when she would take me from school because it was "too beautiful to sit in class" and we'd have lunch sitting next to beautiful monuments to those who have passed.

Ann Arbor: Walking down Liberty and that one block that makes you think that you might actually be in a city. The old West Side and the houses that look nothing if not comfortable. house shows and local musicians. Being the "normie" in a group of an ex-boyfriend's friends...awkward but priceless nonetheless. Brick streets. discounts and free coffee. October streets with Matt. Springtime with Fattie. Snow. Being Hermia in the Arboretum and Luke's twin sister in the Mendelssohn. The Bang and randomly running into Lucas and dancing all night and being utterly disgusting. Nathan and other randoms from the WCBN library. The Alleyway of Delight and (though I never thought I'd say this) 115 E. Kingsley St. Walking around town with Shawn drinking gin and tonic.

I love you both and miss you.