lonelyhighway

I grew up here and it’s not that great. Although my time away made me appreciate Kansas City, I still don’t like the people in Overland Park. I understand why people think it’s a great place to raise a family, and I do think I was lucky to grow up in the Kansas City area, but the people are obsessed with status symbols and there are obvious problems with racism that white people in the area refuse to admit exist.

It was the first time I saw the Atlantic Ocean. Cold, but beautiful.

I went to Indian Springs and spent the day in cheap luxury, then stopped by the river than runs through town and stuck my feet in the water. I called my family to tell them about how unimaginably beautiful the place was. I felt like I was in an old west town. I want to live there some day.

I went with two Rachels; one was a friend, the other had a crush on me. We went to see Henry Rollins do a spoken word show. We ate shitty Mexican food on the sidewalk outside, in front of the tattoo parlor, while waiting for the doors to open. I scrambled up to the front and center as soon as the doors opened and laughed my ass off for the next two and a half hours.

When I lived in Atlanta, I “adopted” this building as my own. I still smile whenever I see it in pictures of the skyline. It’s just so beautiful.

Go up the little staircases near the magazines. They’re wonderful little balconies with desks and chairs. You can see everything in the rest of the store. It’s so perfect.

I hate that 12-and-under rule. My elementry school took us here every year from kindergarten through third grade. If I knew a little kid, I’d be there every family day. Finally, a giant corporation that something good for the community – Hallmark allows all children to visit Kaleidoscope for free!

If you’re not white, expect the bike cops to follow you around. It happens every time I go there.

I spent last fall working at Innisfree Village, an intentional, life-sharing community for adults with developmental disabilities. The job changed my life. Everything was new. We ate cheese and eggs from a farm down the road, got beef from farms down the road, grew our own produce and herbs, made our own peanut butter. The people who live at Innisfree are some of the most amazing and inspiring people you will ever meet. Crozet and Charlottesville are the most beautiful part of Virginia. I’ll be back there within 5 years.