The Silver Screen Oasis

I miss the midwest tremendously. Going out to Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin for my family reunion two years ago was so great. My daughter and husband really caught the vibe of the midwest - it's charm, it's openness, whether talking about the land itself or the people who live on it. I was glad they both said they'd love to live there, because I had been worried they wouldn't get it, would just feel like there was nothing there. And there are urban places there, in fact, now I live in Connecticut, where everyone thinks they are so upscale, the towns are all smaller than any city I lived in out in the plains states.

I live close to a fairly large urban city. The "techno" world has it's charms, I'm sure, but the price one pays in lack of personal space, privacy or security is a high one. A nice place to visit, but not to live in, for me. One of my sons lives in a very cosmopolitan European city, and when he is here for the holidays, you can almost see him counting the days until he can return. Diff'rent strokes....

Knitty, I would love to live out there near you. Connecticut is beautiful, but the pace is stressful, and the people are cold and judgmental, mostly. If it weren't for our excellent weather here, and the lack of tornadoes, I would have moved back long ago. Maybe to a small city like Madison WI, where you get the best of both worlds.

Madison is four times the size of my town. And mine is a fair sized city! Compared to the half civilized burgs that surround it, it's urban sprawl! When I was young, you could walk across town in an hour. There has since been considerable development. We have areas that are wall to wall shopping. It's kind of obnoxious, to be honest. But after 30 years in Chicago, I don't feel overwhelmed. I appreciate the small town feel, even though it's really not that small!

Louisville is only about two hours away. But I never go there. Again, after the Chicago experience, what's in Louisville that I need to see?

Jacks, the thing about weather is (to me) that no matter where you are, there is some kind of weather issue. Even in the tropics, you have to occasionally deal with hurricanes/typhoons. As much as I hate tornado season, it still beats living in a metropolitan jungle. For those who have always lived in those jungles, I'm sure they can not fathom living anywhere else. Like I said, diff'rent strokes.....

As much as I hate tornado season, it still beats living in a metropolitan jungle.

As one who grew up on a farm -- or, as I lovingly refer to it, "God's Penalty Box" -- I'm with your son, Knitty.

Or, as Woody Allen told Diane Keaton in ANNIE HALL (I paraphrase): There are dead bugs in the screen, and Dick and Perry.

Hahahaha! ChiO, you city boy. I know there are country boy in the big city noirs....but did anyone ever do a noir in which a city boy is dumped in the country and has to contend with bugs in the screen (not to mention Dick and Perry)?

I love both urban and rural, so Madison was an ideal city for me. Actually here in Mystic I get the best of both worlds as well. I am a 12 minute walk from town, but I've also had bunnies and coyotes and chipmunks and foxes and deer and woodchucks in my yard, and a small woods across the street.

Knitty, I admit we have our weather situations, but with the hurricanes we've had, at least we know they are coming, and can prepare. A tornado is so frightening to me because there is no way of knowing where it will come down. I lived out there for years in different states and though I went about my business as if nothing was wrong, I really hated tornado warnings and the fear that went with them. I'm told though that hurricanes can produce much more sustained damage. Hard to believe when you see a town like Moore, which was about 15 minutes from where I lived at one time, and the devastation they suffered.

but did anyone ever do a noir in which a city boy is dumped in the country and has to contend with bugs in the screen (not to mention Dick and Perry)?

If memory serves, weren't Frank Lovejoy and Edmond O'Brien from the Big City when William Talman gave them the eye?

And speaking of Ida Lupino: ON DANGEROUS GROUND.

Well, looking outside, it is NIGHTFALL.

Of course!

Border Incident also springs to mind.... oh the hazards of country life...

The greatest danger in the south is the food. It tastes great, but the stuff will kill you!

RedRiver wrote:The greatest danger in the south is the food. It tastes great, but the stuff will kill you!

at least you will have a smile on your face when you go. the stress in the northeast will kill you harder and...no smiles.

Ha! Red, you are too funny! Now THAT is the stuff of our noir nightmare these days...

Great start to my morning...


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that can't be real! too funny.