Sometime around the 1960s through the 80s, a barely teenaged kid carved his name in wet concrete throughout his North Beach, San Francisco neighborhood about 1000 times. A few decades later, a laid-off journalist spends his unemployment checks and free time staring at the ground, combing thru concrete, in search of Nikko. I read it all on-line for free here, but you can also support the writer by ordering the chapbook here.
I can't figure myself out--where do I thrive best? Am I a country mouse, city mouse? Both? Neither? I'm quite sure I wouldn't do very well without nature within breathing distance. But as this true (and to me, somewhat heartbreaking) piece reveals, stories with this brand of graffiti and soul can only happen in the rangle tangle of a grumbly city where being alone and even strange is what connects you to everyone else.
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6 comments:
I have this love/hate relationship with big cities too. The suburbs just don't seem like a good compromise though.
Going to check out that story now. BTW glad you're back.
Okay, so this story is outfreakingstanding, I'm going to have to buy it. and look for nikko next time in North Beach
I've never seen Nikko! My mom's bf lived in North Beacha t the time and should know about him - I'll pass this on! And I, too, am trying to figure out where I'm best. I decided that I really like towns like the one in which I grew up: relatively small and not far from a big big city. Like Madison! :)
i love nature all that sh*t, but i have learned that i am a big-city girl. i love the diversity, the histories, the color, the food. there is no way i am ever going back to the burbs. and there is no way i'll survive the Mother (Nature).
you know who...thank you for the new posts (count them, 2! woo hoo!). i personally think that the place where you thrive best is the place your breaths and the manic of your mind seem to automatically slow down, feel calm and you just sort of have the "waiting to exhale" exhalation thing. some people do find peace among a crowded city (the noises, both literally and figuratively, are so intense that they drown out the manic thoughts in your mind), while some would need peace (as in nature) to get that same sense. Alas, the great thing that help us deal with horrible situations (like walking into a really stinking restroom where the previous person did not have the decency of striking a match after their unholy deeds, and your body quickly adjust and become oblivious to the stink) also detract us from the sense of peace that we managed to find. So, you'll have to trick your system by switching it up. take yours truly. i love in the suburb (and will never ever live in the city ever again), work in downtown (2 blocks from LA Live), and spends weekends at the beach every 2 weeks. but just so you know, i thrive best and feel most at home in new england. who thunk it?
OMG, look at all the typos, and subject/verb disagreement. can you tell i'm a brain-dead immigrant? darn my promise to comment...
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