My last post was about leaving Maine. Which I did. Driving. Nine Days. Thanks to Craig, who drove with me. And my cat Doc, along for the ride.
And here we are, the Sheathed Sword on a new coast. Really, a return to the old coast. I was born and raised out West, from generations of western settlers. It’s in my bones. And my bones are now here, in Portland, Oregon, where my mother’s parents lived many, many decades ago.
Getting here taught me a few things. First, it is not too late to tick items off a bucket list – saw Niagara Falls and got soaked in the Maid of the Mist for what is probably the one and only time. Revisited my youth in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, though one afficionado complained via text that there were too many people in it that didn’t merit the reward – like Donna Summer – and too many people who deserved admission but were not there, like Ry Cooder. Stipulated. And fun, anyway as a memory lane, rejuvenating experience.
My culinary lesson was that there is actually great food everywhere, not just on the right and left coasts. In, of all places, Batavia New York, we found a little Asian place called Yume Asian Bistro. In the middle of a non-descript shopping mall of six stores a half mile from Best Western. A nothing-burger, you think. Not so. Some of the finest, well-sauced and well-presented pan-Asian food I have eaten anywhere, including in Asia, itself. Try their Shumai shrimp dumplings, twisted at the top, with a compelling red sauce.
Or, in Yakima in the high, brown, tumbleweed desert of eastern Washington state, where my ancestors once lived. We found Waterfire Restaurant, on the edge of the airport. Styled western wood, lots of open outdoor spaces, and a fantastic mix of western and Asian cuisine you shouldn’t miss if you are on I 90.
The topographical lesson was the beauty of the Rockies through Montana and Idaho. Four high passes, like a repetitious slalom. Took three hours to get through, curve after curve. Turn off cruise control; it does not begin to give you the command you need to brake into the turn and accelerate out of it. Curve after curve. Lose your focus, step out of the moment and you could be airborne. Fun, and beautiful.
The political lesson was that the divisions of America are everywhere to be found. From Trump signs to the “Let’s Go Brandon” bumper sticker on sale at the gas station convenience store in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford have homes. Ah, well…
Most important, the geography lesson. You get to Iowa only to realize that more than half of the country is yet to come. It’s a very large place, the USA. And the states get bigger as you drive west. It seems like the settlers got tired of little states – too much trouble – and just lumped a lot of places together into a few big ones with a lot of flat edges containing flat spaces. Until you hit Wyoming (God bless Liz Cheney for fighting for democracy).
It's good to do the transition that way. I saw a lot of America and had some time to adjust to this major transition in my life. Though I am now in Portland, my soul has still not quite caught up with my body. But now there are whole new landscapes to learn, new chance meetings, new cultures.
And, for me, the confrontation of settler and indigenous land dwellers, the fraught history of the American West. I am sure there is much more of that to come; it could well show up on Sheathed Sword as my life here expands.
But for now, breathing, picking up my virtual pen, unpacking 75 boxes, and starting a new chapter.
Love the shorthand travelog- look forward to the perspectives from the other Portland! Settle well!!
Hi Gordon,
I drove across the country last year, to visit family in Portland. I stayed there several weeks and then drove back. The entire trip was three months. I loved seeing the span of the country, something I have not done since my much younger days. I managed to find some emptiness, but there’s more built-up areas than there used to be. Not all of it pretty, but there is a lot of beauty.
In some central parts of the country, there was economic stagnation. In others, you could even say devastation. Portland seems to have more economic polarization than it used to. People that work for large and successful companies are doing well, but the poor are not. Some argue that poor people come to Portland because it’s relatively hospitable to unhoused and marginalized people. If that is so, our country is very unwell indeed.
In general, there’s more ethnic diversity than there used to be. Punjabis, Ethiopians, Nigerians, Southeast Asians from many countries. Most of these seem to work very hard, especially in the first generation. Many have started businesses that seem to be successful and employing local people whose ancestors came generations earlier. That no doubt involves complex anthropological and sociological issues one could study.