Take a Seat

In today’s New York Times (sub. req.) John Edger Wideman has an Op Ed entitled The Seat Not Taken in which he talks about being a black man on the Acela train between New York and Rhode Island, a train trip he takes a couple of times a week during the school year.

Over the last four years, excluding summers, I have conducted a casual sociological experiment in which I am both participant and observer. It’s a survey I began not because I had some specific point to prove by gathering data to support it, but because I couldn’t avoid becoming aware of an obvious, disquieting truth.

Almost invariably, after I have hustled aboard early and occupied one half of a vacant double seat in the usually crowded quiet car, the empty place next to me will remain empty for the entire trip.

I am a white woman but I can verify Mr. Wideman’s sociological experiment.  Because I did the same experiment on Southwest Airlines over a three or four year period.  But I called it my “Secret to Getting a Good Seat on Southwest Airlines”.

A number of years ago my sister and I had season tickets to Chicago’s Lyric Opera and I travelled to Chicago about once a month to see operas with her.  I would fly up and back on Southwest Airlines (in those days you could get $30 one-way tickets – you couldn’t drive for that price).   Usually the flights were crowded and usually the plane was pretty full when I got on because St. Louis was the last stop before Chicago.  Often there would be only a few empty seats on each flight.  Southwest Airlines planes had three seats on either side of the aisle and it was open seating.   So, only if you were lucky would you end up in one of the few rows where there was an empty seat between you and the other person in your row. 

I preferred not to rely on luck.  I preferred to rely on the racism of others.  Every time I got on the flight I would look for a black man, preferably one sitting in a window seat (I like the aisle), who was sitting in a row that was otherwise empty.   I would nod to him and ask if the aisle seat was taken.  He would say no.  I would sit down. And both of us would wait as the plane filled up and latecomers searched for empty seats.  The middle seats would begin to fill in but the seat between us would remain empty until the very end.  If the flight was full, eventually someone would take that seat between us.  But if there were a few empty seats left on the flight we would end up with the empty seat between us. 

I didn’t think of this strategy by myself.  I noticed it one time when I just happened to choose an aisle seat and wondered why no one was picking the middle seat next to me.  So the next time I experimented.  

I still use this strategy when I fly Southwest. And, yes, sometimes I feel a little bit guilty that I am benefitting from the racism around me.   Sometimes I wondered what the man in the row with me thought about it.  I suspected it was probably a mixture of annoyance and joy at not being crammed three to a row.  I never felt comfortable asking.   But here’s what Mr. Wideman says:

Of course, I’m not registering a complaint about the privilege, conferred upon me by color, to enjoy the luxury of an extra seat to myself. I relish the opportunity to spread out, savor the privacy and quiet and work or gaze at the scenic New England woods and coast. It’s a particularly appealing perk if I compare the train to air travel or any other mode of transportation, besides walking or bicycling, for negotiating the mercilessly congested Northeast Corridor. Still, in the year 2010, with an African-descended, brown president in the White House and a nation confidently asserting its passage into a postracial era, it strikes me as odd to ride beside a vacant seat, just about every time I embark on a three-hour journey each way, from home to work and back.

I admit I look forward to the moment when other passengers, searching for a good seat, or any seat at all on the busiest days, stop anxiously prowling the quiet-car aisle, the moment when they have all settled elsewhere, including the ones who willfully blinded themselves to the open seat beside me or were unconvinced of its availability when they passed by. I savor that precise moment when the train sighs and begins to glide away from Penn or Providence Station, and I’m able to say to myself, with relative assurance, that the vacant place beside me is free, free at last, or at least free until the next station. I can relax, prop open my briefcase or rest papers, snacks or my arm in the unoccupied seat.

But the very pleasing moment of anticipation casts a shadow, because I can’t accept the bounty of an extra seat without remembering why it’s empty, without wondering if its emptiness isn’t something quite sad. And quite dangerous, also, if left unexamined. Posters in the train, the station, the subway warn: if you see something, say something.

Land of Lincoln

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  I had lots to do and not enough time to do it.  And I had the hay fever/allergy cough that so many people seem to have right now.   But.  Enough whining.

I spent last weekend in beautiful Springfield, Illinois, seasonal home of the Illinois legislature and permanent home of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Although I’ve driven through Springfield dozens of times I’ve only stopped in Springfield once for something business related.  I had never seen any of the Lincoln sites.  I’m not sure why.  Most kids from St. Louis get there for a field trip at some point in their school careers.  But I never did.

It turned out to be a great trip.  Springfield is only 90 miles from St. Louis so even accounting for bridge traffic and Friday night rush hour it is an easy trip. The Museum is easy to find, there are signs everywhere and a huge tourist parking garage about a block away.  And the museum?   It is easily one of the best history museums I’ve ever been to.  It has only been open since 2005 so it is a new experience for almost everyone.

I don’t have any photos from inside the museum because they are prohibited except in the “Plaza” area.  The Plaza is the central area from which you enter the various exhibits.  On one side is a replica of the log cabin that Lincoln grew up in and on the other is the facade of the White House.  There are life size Madame Tussaud style figures of Lincoln and his family in the center of the Plaza and visitors stop to take pictures of each other with the Lincoln Family before cameras have to be put away.

The purpose of the Museum is to give the visitor an overview of Lincoln’s life and of the times in which he lived.  It is an entire city block big and it is an interactive museum – state-of-the art doesn’t even begin to describe it.  For instance, one exhibit is a room where the visitors can sit on benches and watch film of a historian answering questions about Lincoln.  The question pops up and then the historian comes on with an answer.  At first I thought this was a nice place to rest while waiting for others.  Then I realized that there was a computer terminal and the visitor could “ask” the questions.  A menu gave categories of questions and lists of questions within every category.   So, for instance, you can ask what Lincoln believed “liberty” meant.  Or any other question that interests you. 

The actual museum is divided into two parts.  For some reason we did them out of order but it didn’t really matter. Part I is entered through the Log Cabin and takes you through the early years of Lincoln’s life.  The museum recreates, for instance, a room in Lincoln’s law office in Springfield to show what it was like.  Like most law offices it was full of piles of papers.  Figures of Lincoln’s sons, Willie and Tad, are shown running wild through the office giving life to the description of Lincoln as being a “permissive” parent.  Lincoln’s courtship of Mary Todd is represented.  The 1860 campaign is represented through a modern media room where Tim Russert is reporting on the campaign as if it is a modern day campaign.  

Part II is entered through the White House facade and took us through the presidential years, the war and Lincoln’s death.  One particularly effective display shows Lincoln standing at his desk contemplating the Emancipation Proclamation.  On the wall behind him you can see shadows coming and going as “people” approach to tell Lincoln what they thought.  And you hear their voices – angry, emphatic.  No one was pleased.  It went too far.  It didn’t go far enough.

The last room in this exhibit is a complete recreation of Representative’s Hall in the Old State Capitol with Lincoln’s casket lying in state as the visitors pass by.  It sounds odd but it is really quite touching and you really do feel as if you are paying your own last respects to him.

There are also two theaters.  One uses holograms to explain why it’s important to study history and especially this history.  This other is a film about Lincoln that uses multiple special effects. 

We had a great time exploring the museum and the best part was that it wasn’t one of those museums where you spend the entire day, end up exhausted and still haven’t seen everything.  We were there about three hours and then we left and went to lunch and do other things. 

For lunch I tried a specialty of Springfield – a Horseshoe Sandwich.  Then it was on to the Old State Capitol:

Inside there were re-enactors including the “president elect and his wife” who were “accepting visitors”.  Those kinds of things can be cheesy but these actors did a great job and were completely in character the entire time.

We decided to skip the Lincoln Home and the Law Office and go see Springfield’s only Frank Lloyd Wright home instead.  But the next day, before we left for home, we stopped at the cemetery to see the Lincoln Tomb and pet the nose of the Lincoln bust out front for good luck:

Then it was back home.  But I intend to go back and see that museum again and maybe some of the other historical LIncoln “stuff” that I missed this time.

A North Woods Break

I just spent a few days in Northern Wisconsin at a family event.  When I got sick last week I almost stayed home but, fortunately, by Friday I felt well enough to risk the four airline flights (2 up and 2 back).   I’m feeling better and so far haven’t had any ill effects from flying except for one ear that’s still a little clogged (even using ear planes). 

In transit I read Sebastian Barry’s The Secret Scripture.   This came out in 2008, a couple of years after The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell, and it reminded me a lot of that novel.  Both are set in the present day and take place partly in asylums where women have been incarcerated for “social” disorders as well as for true insanity.  There are a lot of flashbacks. I love Esme Lennox, I liked The Secret Scripture.  Barry had to work a little too hard to make all of his threads come together at the end for me to love it.  Also, Esme Lennox is the story of women, The Secret Scripture is also the story of Doctor Grene who is treating the 100 year old Roseanne McNulty as well as the story of Mrs. McNulty.   I think the story of women worked slightly better.   But that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy The Secret Scripture.  

Here’s some pics from the trip:

This was the view from my bedroom window of Lake Minoqua.   The place we stayed at was lovely but, despite the photo, it was right on the main highway so there was a constant sound of traffic.  I’m used to the North Woods being quieter.

Yes, it was Wisconsin so giant Paul Bunyans and Blue Oxes were expected.

We only got out on the lake for about an hour, just enough time to get a quick tour of the boat houses.  This is the oldest boat house on the lake.  It was built in the late 1800’s by the Adler family of Adler Planetarium in Chicago fame.   Yes the photo’s a little cockeyed – the boat was rocking.

This is a view of Boulder Lake, where the event I was going to on Saturday Night was held.  

We had assigned tables and to learn our table we picked up a rock with our name on it and on the reverse was our table number.  Quite clever.

It was nice to get away.  It’s nice to be back.  Although not to 90 degree weather.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Highlights of my trip to Walt Disney World:

And now .... A Disney Moment

Walt Disney voices Mickey Mouse:

My favorite ride at Disney World is the Star Tours ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  They just announced that it will be closing next year so they can install Star Tours II.   So I might need to ride the current Star Tours ride a few times this trip.

Speaking of Travel ...

On  Kottke I saw a link to something called Confessions of an Introverted Traveler.  So I clicked it.

We introverts have a different style of travel, and I’m tired of hiding it.

Oh, I’m always happy enough when interesting people stumble into my path. It’s a lagniappe, and I’m capable of connecting with people when the opportunity arises. And when the chemistry is right, I enjoy it.

But I don’t seek people out, I am terrible at striking up conversations with strangers and I am happy exploring a strange city alone. I don’t seek out political discourse with opinionated cab drivers or boozy bonding with locals over beers into the wee hours. By the time the hours get wee, I’m usually in bed in my hotel room, appreciating local color TV. (So sue me, but I contend that television is a valid reflection of a society.)

Hey!  I could have written this article.  The author, Sophia Dembling, and I are travel twins.

I am an introvert and I love to travel.  I don't mean that I am shy.  There is a difference.  Sophia explains:

Introversion and extroversion are inborn traits, and the difference between them is not that one is gregarious and at ease in the world and the other shy and awkward. Rather, extroverts are outwardly motivated and gain energy from interaction with the outside world while introverts are more inwardly directed and drained by interaction with others. Introverts’ thinking tends to be deep and slow, we require copious time alone, we prefer probing conversation to shallow chitchat, and our social lives are geared more towards intimate one-on-one interactions than “more the merrier” free-for-alls.

It's why I always prefer to have a room to myself, so I can have a little downtime when I need it.  It's why I'm nervous about staying at B&B's.  Just like Sophia:

We’re also not bed-and-breakfast people, if breakfast with other guests is mandatory. (“Where y’all from?” we joke to each other. The mating call of the B&B guest.) I once read about a B&B where the owner collected antique hats that guests were encouraged to wear to breakfast. Really? That sounds fun to people?

Last weekend was a perfect experience.  The Bed & Breakfast where I stayed was really an Inn.  I could eat breakfast all by myself at my very own table and not interact with anyone except the wait staff.  Heaven.

Sophia also offered 6 Tips for Introverted Travelers which I read carefully and with which I agree  The most important is:  always carry a book.

The Story ...

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I spent the weekend in Indiana.  I stayed at the Story Inn in Story Indiana and visited friends nearby who showed me a wonderful time.  If you ever have the opportunity to go to Brown County, Indiana, you should.  And you might consider staying at the Story Inn:

The entire town of Story, Indiana is now a country inn/bed & breakfast, offering fine dining, catering, and lodging. The second floor of the Old General Store (briefly a Studebaker buggy factory in the 1920’s) has been renovated into four quaint bed & breakfast accommodations notable for their year-round occupant, the “Blue Lady.” The Blue Lady is a mirthful albeit innocuous apparition with flowing white robes, whose cheeky behavior has been observed by Story Inn employees and recorded in guest books since the 1970’s. (Current management notes that the frequency of her appearances increased markedly after 2001, coinciding with the arrival of a complementary bottle of privately-labeled wine in each room.) The Treaty House, Doc Story’s homestead, the Alra Wheeler homestead, the Carriage House, the Old Mill, and other historic buildings around town have each been tastefully and authentically renovated into guest cottages, many with kitchenettes and hot tubs.

Story’s Old General Store, replete with its creaky wooden floors, pot-bellied stove and long-retired Standard Oil Crown gas pumps out front, is now a celebrated gourmet restaurant known as the “Story Inn.” The restaurant is open year-round, serving for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinners are by reservation only.

I recommend it (even though I didn't see the Blue Lady). Even if you can't stay there you should go to dinner there.  And have desert.  The homemade peach cobbler I had was almost as good as my grandma's.

Here is a photo I took on my i-phone of the old General Store building where I had breakfast each morning and where we had dinner on Saturday night:

 

It really is a magical place, stuck in another time. 

On my drive home I listened to the CD that my hosts gave me to remember Brown County by:  Liar's Bench.  I listened to it three times I enjoyed it so much.

Architect Stephen Miller grew up in Brown County...grew up hearing tales about "Aunt Mollie" Lucas, who was sweet and cheerful, and her sister, the legendary Allie Ferguson, who was fiery and fierce; Sheriff Sam Parks, a drinking man who raided Republican stills, while overlooking those belonging to his Democrat friends; Wash (pronounces "Warsh") and Mary Barnes, the husband and wife who had a falling out of affections and divided their cabin down the middle, with neither ever crossing to the other's side (when Wash died, the undertaker had to take him out the window, which was on his side of the cabin, because Mary wouldn't hear to his goin' out the door on her side), and many others.
Miller happened to relate some of these stories to a musician friend of his, Slats Klug

And the CD was born. If you open the link you can sample the music. 

Have a Good Holiday

I'm taking off early today to start the three day holiday. I hope everyone has a good weekend wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

Apropos of what I'm doing:

Or maybe this one is better:

And as a bonus, the other day I blogged about Rockcliffe Mansion and noted that it was designed by the same firm that designed the Missouri Governor's Mansion. Here's a link to a blog story with pictures of the Missouri Governor's Mansion - or "the Mary Poppins House" as I like to call it.

DC - Travels Outside the Mind

The above was a postcard you could buy at The Spy Museum in DC.  I didn't buy it but I thought it was funny enough to take a picture of it with my iPhone.  Technically I didn't go to The Spy Museum, just to the gift shop.  It had all kinds of fun things to buy mostly relating to fictional spies.  My favorite part of the shop was a series of shelves devoted to Nancy Drew "stuff".

When I started this blog I was bemoaning the fact that my friends Megan and Adam were taking off a year to travel around the world and were blogging about it (and by the way they have some fabulous photos of Patagonia up at their blog right now) and I was stuck here at home.  I expected that I might take a few trips and I might blog about them.  But mostly I'd blog about other stuff I did in my life.  What I wouldn't blog about was politics (there are other places for that) or law (I just won't do it). 

A few weeks ago I spent about 5 days in Washington DC.  I've gone back and forth about whether to post something here about it.  It was travel and I had a lot of fun.  On the other hand I was there for the inauguration and that's political. 

I finally decided that anything I wrote belonged on a political site.  So ... if you want to read about my trip to DC you'll have to click one of the links below.  Don't worry, my Republican lurker friends -  even though the purpose was political there isn't much politics in what I wrote.  

Click here for my ShowmeProgress Post

Click here for my BooManTribune Post

They are identical.   If you don't want to register to comment at either of those places (registration is easy, don't hesitate) you can comment here or do what most of you normally do - talk to me in person :)

This and That

I'm still looking for suggestions in the post below.  While you think ...

• Sometimes you just need a holiday chuckle -- and this one is at someone else's expense.  But I can't help it, I lauged. If you need a laugh then click here to hear the worst ending to Handel's Messiah evah.   For those of us who have sung it many times ... it's one of those funny but thank god it wasn't me moments.  (h/t Inside the Classics)
• If any multi-millionaire was out looking for a Christmas gift for me, I hope he (or she) picked me up an original EH Shepard Winnie the Pooh Drawing.
• Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has died.  The computer is speechless.  And Deanna Troi is mourning.
• I'm thinking of making Cranberry Sorbet this weekend.  Unless I feel too cold.   My sister and I are baking cookies and I figure we'll need a palate cleanser.  Which reminds me that I need to dig out a cookie recipe for Toni's Cookie Exchange.
• As I sit here amidst ice and some snow, feeling very cold, I'm very jealous of my friends Meg and Adam who are spending six months in South America.  They were my inspiration for starting a blog in the first place.  But while they are now blogging in summer clothes, while drinking Argentinian wine and eating Argentinian steak, I'm in my bunny slippers and an oversized sweater shivering.   ::sniff::
• Haven't finished your holiday shopping yet?  Books make great gifts.  At least, that's what America's book publishers think.  And they've done a youtube that says so ( I particularly like Jon Stewart's reasoning):