I think the The Arcade Fire did something seriously cool when they developed their Grammy-Award-Winning album The Suburbs. They took their own experiences with their suburban lives in Houston, TX and collaborated on a message for all to hear. Their album got me to thinking about my own life and what it’s like to be a ex-collegiate residing in a sleepy suburb.
What are the suburbs? How was Long Island created to be what it is today? What has it looked like in the past? What’s the economic picture life? Diversity? Politics? Who are our representatives? Who’s running the Board of Ed? Are there any cool things to do? What kinds of poetry resources exist here? What kind of opportunities do I see for Long Island and my home town? What do we got going for us (qualified teachers, youth desperate for something cool to do, and $)
They say the suburbs are an obsolete framework for living… The following clip from a documentary entitle “The End of Suburbia” is just the beginning of an argument made claiming that Suburban life is unsustainable:
So What?
That’s a great question. I grew up in a seriously dead suburb. Life as a kid, teen, young adult, etc. was droll and predictable. Now that I’ve moved back with all of my progressive university perspectives, I understand the function suburban life serves, but I can’t condone the comfort and the waste that I see around me, soooooo…
A Call to action for long island
Why are we still living in these obsolete towns? Where’s the poetry on Long Island? Who speaks for us?
Why are we sleeping?
I am going to begin with a new challenge to hold myself accountable for my own consciousness in this Suburb where I live. I am going to seek out the answers to my questions and follow the trail of beauty and truth to the poetry that must exist.
The Magnetic Fields:
“There’ll be time enough for sleeping when we’re dead/ You will have a velvet pillow for your head/ But tonight I think I’d rather just go dancing/ There’ll be time enough for sleeping when we’re dead, my love”
An old Persian poet named Rumi once said:
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
DON’T GO BACK TO SLEEP.
This Post was written in loving memory of my beloved Gym Teacher, Bowling Coach, Badminton Coach, and Wise Mentor Ms. Catherine Dodd. You were a seriously decent person who taught the kids of my sleepy suburb to be whacky and active no matter what and that we’re all winners no matter where we’re from.
