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On Sunday, I meandered through the small town streets of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, camera in hand.
Ste. Genevieve is a truly beautiful and historic town, but the part of Ste. Gen I’d like to share with you this morning is just a simple store front window with my reflection in it; a little piece of a place I hold dear to my heart (literally, since I wear a necklace with a pendant of the Brooklyn Bridge most days).
If you look closely, you can see reflections of Ste. Genevieve’s downtown just below an image of the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City.
Brooklyn Bridge - Ste. Gen style, photo by/of smalltowngirl
Today I leave for a weekend trip to Pittsburgh, where a close friend of mine is getting married. Twelve hours in the car today doesn’t leave much time for talking to twitter friends or reminding people that a new post is up, so do a smalltowngirl a favor, and pass this link on to your friends!
Last Saturday I was at the Moses Austin Festival in Potosi, Missouri, and yesterday I was at the Fall Festival in Farmington, Missouri. On both occasions, I witnessed dogs wearing skirts.
Why dress a dog in a skirt? Because it’s hiLARious.
Dogs in dresses, photo by smalltowngirl
The only thing funnier than a dog in a skirt is a male dog dressed in pink sparkles:
Cross-dressing puppy, photo by smalltowngirl
And the only thing funnier than a boy dog in pink sparkles is a boy dog in a pink skirt.
These first two pictures were from the Moses Austin Festival, but I also saw dressed up dogs yesterday at the Fall Festival in Farmington. One of those dogs was, in fact, a boy dog in a pink, sparkly dress.
Unfortunately, I missed that photo opportunity. To compensate, here’s a dog dressed as the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz:
Scarecrow dog, photo by smalltowngirl
I used to think that New York City was more liberal than rural Missouri. Now I think Missourians are just taking their closet-liberal leanings out on their unsuspecting canine pals.
I didn’t live in NYC in 2001, so it didn’t occur to me that I could have seen the World Trade Towers from my apartment until I saw these spotlights last year from my bedroom window.
From my Bedroom Window, photo by smalltowngirl
In the Midwest, we see 9/11 as a large scale event. We’re compassionate, but we still it through the lens that the news crews shared it; not from the eyes of someone living in the community directly affected. Living in New York changed that for me. My friends would occassionally remember that day quietly and in detail.
Walking through Park Slope with my friend Michael, he refleced out loud about where he and his girlfriend each were that day. He told me that they’d not lived in New York City for very long, and that for all the fear they both felt, living through 9/11 is also one of the things that made them feel like New York City was their city and Park Slope was their community. They sat on a rooftop in Brooklyn, watching the Manhattan skyline burn. I watched it all on television.
Separately, another friend described the dust-covered Brooklyn streets. Like a light snow, he said, all of the neighborhood’s cars, streets, and buildings were covered in grey ash and dust.
I didn’t live in New York City in 2001, but I’ve felt the absense of steel and breath and life at Ground Zero. It’s a place were people commuted to work just like the rest of us commute to our own offices or schools or job sites. At one time, Ground Zero was an office not unlike yours or mine to the people who worked inside of it.
New York City is a city of greatness. Its power and achievement are unrivaled by any other city in the United States, but New York City is also a city made up of real, normal people.
No matter how significant keywords like “national security” or “terrorism” or “patriotism” are, 9/11 is about individual people going about their daily work; heading to the office, dropping the kids off at school, or sipping their morning coffee.
In the Midwest we say “Never Forget”, and we remind ourselves once a year that today is the eleventh of September. Many of the individual people who I hold close to my heart experience 9/11 in unexpected flashbacks and daily reminders of what happened in their community.
To my friends here in the Midwest, I hope that you’ll continue to show respect for the individuals and their families who lived through 9/11 in New York City. 9/11 is not a symbol to them of one specific day in history; it’s a lens through which many of my friends now see their daily lives. We say “never forget”, but after living in New York City, I wonder how you ever can.
Online dating was a brilliant way to meet new people and explore a new city when I moved to New York. For the most part I was successful with it, but nothing in life is 100% wonderful all of the time.
This guy’s online profile talked about his love for music and the arts, but my hopes for sophisticated conversation about concerts, galleries, and favorite musicians were crushed when I was met by a dude in half-laced tennis shoes, a black concert t-shirt, and a raggedy messenger bag with a babka inside.
Cherry Cheese Babka, photo by smalltowngirl
The only time this smalltowngirl had ever even heard of babka was on the infamous Seinfeld episode during which Elaine waited in a long line for a chocolate babka to take with her to a holiday party.
I was simultaneously amused and appalled that this guy, who incidentally looked not unlike a younger version of George Castanza (he even lived with his mom on Staten Island) brought a messenger-bag-smooshed babka to me on a first date.
Oddly, this wasn’t the first time that a man brought me baked goods on a first date. Babka Boy’s first date with me was also his last, so single men of the world take heed that baked goods are best off kept removed from first dates.
NYC = 0; MO = 1
Why?
Because in NYC, the Trader Joe’s in Union Square typically has a line that winds so far through the store that employees need to stand throughought the store holding signs that say things like “Line Starts Here” or signs with arrows pointing in the direction that the line will turn next.
In St. Louis, the line at Trader Joe’s was exactly two people long.
In NYC, you shop at TJ’s for 20 minutes and wait in line for 30. In MO you shop for 20 minutes and wait in line for 3. NYC = 0; MO = 1.
Short Line, photo by smalltowngirl
I’ve been missing New York City a lot lately. Yesterday I started looking at pictures from my move back to Missouri, and when I did, I realized there were things I had intended to blog (about my move) that I wasn’t able to at the time for logistical reasons.
Case in point: My last trip to Dunkin’ Donuts…
One of the first stops my dad and I made for gas once we’d exited New York City was a gas station with a Dunkin’ Donuts inside. I ordered my last New York-style Dunkin’ Donuts bagel with a cup of Yogi Tea, instead of my usual coffee, since it was late at night. Yogi Tea always has a quote or insightful message on the paper tab that hangs out of the cup, and that night, my Yogi tea sent an eerily relevant message.
All of my belongings were packed into a single van (not a truck…a van), we were headed 1031 miles away for me to begin my new life in my hometown, and this is what my Yogi Tea had to say…
Travel Light, photo by smalltowngirl
“Travel Light, live light, spread the light, be the light”
***
The contents of my New York City apartment, in a van:
Traveling Light, photo by smalltowngirl
Today my friend Michael Hearst arrived from NYC with bandmate Ron for a performance of his project “Songs for Ice Cream Trucks” tomorrow afternoon at 1 pm the St. Louis Art Museum.
As is evidenced by my lack of blogging over the last seven days, I’ve had a hellacious week, and hanging out tonight was a much needed and celebratory end to my 80-hours of hell at work.
Nothing like some rooftop ferris wheel action to chill me out:
Rooftop Ferris Wheel, photo by Ron a.k.a. @SlavicSoulParty
I met Michael at music festival in Kenting, Taiwan in the spring of 2007, where he was performing with his band One Ring Zero (theramins, accordians, and all-around creative genius…for real, check them out.).
smalltowngirl with Lily and One Ring Zero in Taipei, 2007
When I arrived in Park Slope, Brooklyn later that year, he was my ambassador to the neighborhood, making introductions for me, familiarizing me with local restaurants, and generally unsuring that I wasn’t getting run over by New York City.
In short, Michael’s a good guy.
Tonight, I also got to meet Ron, who plays with “Songs for Ice Cream Trucks” as well as with Brooklyn-based Slavic Soul Party. (check him out on twitter @SlavicSoulParty). City Museum, Blueberry Hill, and good company helped end my otherwise pretty friggin’ lousy week on a high note.
Fun at the City Museum, photo by Michael Hearst
***
Check out some of the creative work Michael and/or Ron are involved in:
Songs for Ice Cream Trucks – Tomorrow (Sunday, 7/26) at 1 pm at St. Louis Art Museum
The 18:59 Podcast (with Rick Moody)
And a link to my favorit bar and venue in Brooklyn: Barbes
I’ve been missing Brooklyn this weekend in a serious way.
In looking at Brooklyn blogs tonight, I found this one, talking about Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where I worked. There’s a photo and a short blurb about a 70 year old man who loves BBG and loves Facebook. It then talks about BBG’s Facebook Group, which I started. Something I did in my job at BBG created joy in the lives of this man and his wife.
Maybe I left my mark in Brooklyn, after all.
smalltowngirl at work at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, summer 2008
The Brooklynite in me wants to believe that the future of independent film is in a loft somewhere in Williamsburg where a couple of hipster dudes are hanging out, experimenting with crazy new ideas and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The proud small town girl in me would love to believe that the future of independent film is, indeed, in Caledonia, Missouri, as Purely Productions, LLC claims it to be.
This building in Caledonia (pop. 158) appears to be the Williamsburg loft of Southeast Missouri:
The Future of Independent Film, photo by smalltowngirl
What kind of independent film company makes its home in a tiny Missouri town?
What kind of business has a posterboard business sign?
Maybe a smart one. The cost of living here is super low, and low overhead theoretically means more resources devoted to projects and less to paying the rent.
These guys have me curious…
Posterboard Sign, photo by smalltowngirl
The company’s website shows a small cast and crew who produced six short films in six months, but I couldn’t find any clips on YouTube. Does anyone out there know more about Purely Productions, LLC? Leave me a comment.
I’ve lived in New York City, so it should go without saying that I’m hurting for good food in St. Louis.
Or should it?
At Friday night’s #stl #tweet-up, @Tojosan and @MattHomann, determined to convince me that St. Louis isn’t just BBQ and steak, drafted a list for me of the best restaurants and bars in St. Louis. Here’s what they came up with: (note: their original list has been extended to include more recommendations from friends reading this blog and following me on twitter).
33 (wine bar)
Absolulty Goosed
Bailey’s Chocolate Bar
The Bleeding Deacon (for good bar food)
Boogaloo’s (Maplewood)
Farotto’s (great lasagna!)
Franco
Frazier’s Brown Bag
Grazzi’s (The Hill)
Hodak’s (for fried chicken)
Iron Barley
La Vellasana
Niche
Olympia (Greek – try the flaming cheese!)
Pi
Porch (store)
Ravanelli’s (Collinsville, IL)
Red Sea (Ethiopian)
Venice Cafe
Do you think my twitter friends have omitted great St. Louis restaurants? Leave me a comment, and I’ll add your suggestion to my list!
