Just got back to the city following a few days off the mainland. My trip and return has reminded me afresh that, whulst the city promises many things, a good chunk of this is false. When I'm out of it, I'm much clearer as to what the 'real' is.
Edina is an odd fish. I think it is quite possible I was a little in love with her, so missed her flaws for a very long time. Or, maybe, I loved her so much that I liked her flaws. Or something. I do enjoy the odd visit now and again, though I found it a bit difficult for a while. Like bumping into an ex at a party.
To fall in love with a city - or even just to love it with any intensity of attachment - seems, to my heart, to be a big risk. These places are odd by nature, to the extent that they scarcely know themselves; they are so ripe for changing, or being corrupted or co-opted at any moment, that what one loves is always too close to being lost. (Increasingly, I find loving some people to be like this, too).
If I’m to love a place, let it be somewhere where the pace of change is much slower, and let my relationship with it be more settled and enduring.
Just got back to the city following a few days off the mainland. My trip and return has reminded me afresh that, whulst the city promises many things, a good chunk of this is false. When I'm out of it, I'm much clearer as to what the 'real' is.
Edina is an odd fish. I think it is quite possible I was a little in love with her, so missed her flaws for a very long time. Or, maybe, I loved her so much that I liked her flaws. Or something. I do enjoy the odd visit now and again, though I found it a bit difficult for a while. Like bumping into an ex at a party.
To fall in love with a city - or even just to love it with any intensity of attachment - seems, to my heart, to be a big risk. These places are odd by nature, to the extent that they scarcely know themselves; they are so ripe for changing, or being corrupted or co-opted at any moment, that what one loves is always too close to being lost. (Increasingly, I find loving some people to be like this, too).
If I’m to love a place, let it be somewhere where the pace of change is much slower, and let my relationship with it be more settled and enduring.