2008 Woodie Awards
I miss it (a little)
Megan DeWald-Kline
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Opinion
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I do truly miss the little things, those uniquely Texan niceties that are easily taken for granted: the cashier at Randall's asking if I found everything I wanted, the cowboy-hat-wearing stranger holding a door open for me, an amazing and/or cheap restaurant on every street corner where there isn't already a gas station, or a church.
New Jersey, where I currently live, feels more like a big suburb than a state. Philadelphia is close by, New York City is right next door, and Washington D.C. is about as far as Austin is from Houston but with more road rage and fewer wildflowers. Here, in New Jersey, most major roads are designed like freeways, so a simple left turn becomes a dizzying ordeal and a U-turn requires some Dramamine.
Everything is designed for efficiency, speed, contingency plans and movement. This move-it-or-lose-it philosophy seeps into your skin and does something to your mind. Before long, you find yourself shoving people with all your body weight as you make your way through the platform entrances at Penn Station just because you can! No need to worry because you will never have to make eye contact with those people, not even if they happen to be your grocers.
So, I enjoy those rare moments on the subway when the darkened windows suddenly light up with the flashing faces in a passing train. It's one of the only moments here when it's OK to look into a stranger's eyes and experience the same sensation, that unique and penetrating human contact. I think it's easy to spot the Texan tourists. They're the ones who won't look away.
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Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Cauldron editorial staff. All other columns and opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the author.
New Jersey, where I currently live, feels more like a big suburb than a state. Philadelphia is close by, New York City is right next door, and Washington D.C. is about as far as Austin is from Houston but with more road rage and fewer wildflowers. Here, in New Jersey, most major roads are designed like freeways, so a simple left turn becomes a dizzying ordeal and a U-turn requires some Dramamine.
Everything is designed for efficiency, speed, contingency plans and movement. This move-it-or-lose-it philosophy seeps into your skin and does something to your mind. Before long, you find yourself shoving people with all your body weight as you make your way through the platform entrances at Penn Station just because you can! No need to worry because you will never have to make eye contact with those people, not even if they happen to be your grocers.
So, I enjoy those rare moments on the subway when the darkened windows suddenly light up with the flashing faces in a passing train. It's one of the only moments here when it's OK to look into a stranger's eyes and experience the same sensation, that unique and penetrating human contact. I think it's easy to spot the Texan tourists. They're the ones who won't look away.
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Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Cauldron editorial staff. All other columns and opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the author.