Benton Harbor and Saint Joseph; Sample Street
Benton Harbor, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan – adjoining cities one county to the north of us – are featured in this Guardian report. And not for a very lovely reason.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Fall’s equinox will occur tomorrow. After several bright, hot days, the weather is obligingly misty.
My dad and I moved a carload of books to my new house. We rode along Sample Street, which goes in a straight line forever. One side is bleakly industrial; the other, bleakly residential. The street is dotted with sad little shops and gas stations.
More than any other part of South Bend, this area reminds me of the grim outlands of southern Quito.
When I was younger, I would project a certain romantic feeling onto such places. I guess I still do; but now I face the prospect of spending the rest of my life in one. (Or very near to one; the house’s immediate surroundings aren’t quite like this.) I am a little too old, and too tired, to relish this possibility.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Fall’s equinox will occur tomorrow. After several bright, hot days, the weather is obligingly misty.
My dad and I moved a carload of books to my new house. We rode along Sample Street, which goes in a straight line forever. One side is bleakly industrial; the other, bleakly residential. The street is dotted with sad little shops and gas stations.
More than any other part of South Bend, this area reminds me of the grim outlands of southern Quito.
When I was younger, I would project a certain romantic feeling onto such places. I guess I still do; but now I face the prospect of spending the rest of my life in one. (Or very near to one; the house’s immediate surroundings aren’t quite like this.) I am a little too old, and too tired, to relish this possibility.