Day Two Hundred Sixty Four

Wow!! Well, the zine was sent to the printer (meaning, photocopied and folded by hand) this evening, and 15 fresh, beautiful, crisp, clean, and other adjectives...zines lay here on my desk, ready to make their way out.

At last.

So! On to today’s word...

This word fit perfectly with, well, everything.

Middle America n. The mid-western states of the U.S.; the class of American citizens with conservative values and attitudes; considered to have average income and education.

Hah!

This cracked me up.

It went well, though, with a thought I had earlier.

I had been thinking about the Midwest, and the attitudes people often have towards it (yes, yes, including myself). After getting to know the art community a little better here in Lawrence, I have to say that my view of the Midwest has changed somewhat. There are, indeed, still plenty of closed-minded, conservative, beef-eating, corn-growing Midwesterners populating our little community, but there are also quite a few pockets of incredible individuals.

It’s different, though, than something you’d see from either coast. It’s a gritty, creative attitude borne not from the polluted streets of large cities, or the crisp sunlight of sandy beaches. It’s the tough, feet-planted-firmly-on-the-earth attitude one adopts after surviving the oppressively humid, dusty summers and the bone-deep, brutal winters of this area. The attitude one gets after realizing that, because there is nothing here, we must have the knowledge and the perseverance to bring what we want to see and experience into this world with our own two hands.

The Midwest is not where I will stay, but I’m glad I grew up enough here to get a good foundation-to get used to making happen what you want to happen without relying on those around you to do it for you.

It’s a good place to get your head on straight,

Before you venture out into the world of the pompous, the rich-the coastal creative types.

Xx

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