You should write for AAA, or maybe Town & Country. Because readers really do crave writing like this rather than the usual tepid and insipid consumer journalism that dominates legacy media. It's abundant in treacly clichés. This is a traveler's story wrapping around a meditation on time. It's kind of personal, too.
why do I think of picking at scabs after reading your wonderful piece, Tonya. I can relate so much to your words. I am good at burying feelings, learned at a very young age. but, sometimes you reluctantly pick and poke just to see what might be still lurking there.
Picking at scabs is a great metaphor for that feeling. I never really know what I’m going to feel about anything until I’m in the moment, and I’m often surprised by how much is still raw in those old wounds.
Tonya, I finally had time to read this just this morning and damn this is good. The way you capture that carefully crafted indifference that you sometimes need in small towns to survive the bullying is very timely with what's going on in rural America right now. I love your writing.
Ha! You're so right about the effects of long-haul interstate driving. The more I do it, the more I realize it ALWAYS puts me in a grumpy state of mind.
And I love the comparison to Odysseus. I should really dig deep into that one.
This is spot on- I loved it. This place is hard and cold. Unless it is your answer. It was our parents' answer, which is why it was so beautiful living their version of it. I try every day to make it mine, but I haven't gotten there yet.
Thanks so much, Jenni. It helps me to hear you talking about it too, and how that place isn't really yours yet, even after all this time. I think we're always going to be wondering how we could possibly re-create that magic we all had in our house in the woods. We keep looking for it, which is a sign of how powerful it was... But then, look at how happy Mom is now. It traveled with her across the country. I think the model is probably to follow your joy, the way she always has, and then the magic comes from that.
Good piece, it all came through in texture of images and just good writing! Favorite line "I survived in God’s Country by stitching myself a coat of indifference. " I can relate growing up as Air Force Brat we lived in Minot N. Dakota for awhile along with other strip centered towns in other states.
Thanks, Kristen! I can imagine it would have been so similar in Minot--or anyplace like that. A lot of us have a Sturgis-like place in our past that we carry around.
Hi- I’m a grandmother living in Sturgis, raising 2 of my grandsons ages 14 and 15. Reading your story was like listening to the boys tell me about their day. So much rings true. Who is at Regional West, who is cutting themselves, who is vaping in the school bathrooms and who brought vodka to Middle school in their water bottle. Kids are still hanging out at the library and also the Community Center. They think they are the first to do such things. We try to teach them that there is a great big world outside of Sturgis . My job is to keep them safe until they can spread their wings and see this for themselves. I do hope that they will always come home but not with the dread and dark shadow that followed you back. Thank you for the essay.
Thank you so much for your response, Ursula. I’m both glad and sorry that I was able to describe the place in a way that is still recognizable. I was back in Sturgis for a few days last fall, and this piece is just a portion of the experience. I hope to write more soon about how the dread mixes with love. It can be a rough place, but I don’t think anyone can spend time in Sturgis without loving a lot about it too. I think it’s natural to feel both a push and pull about the towns that raised us. Your boys will probably feel the same when they are older--a kind of complicated, and not always willing, connection to the place.
Such a beautifully written and thoughtful comment, Connie. And I love the way you compare that 'vote' to two teenagers in heat--the kind of thoughtless choice that ends up altering everything, forever. Thanks so much, as always, for your savvy reader's eye.
You should write for AAA, or maybe Town & Country. Because readers really do crave writing like this rather than the usual tepid and insipid consumer journalism that dominates legacy media. It's abundant in treacly clichés. This is a traveler's story wrapping around a meditation on time. It's kind of personal, too.
Ha, I can just imagine the letters AAA would get. It’s a fun idea, though. Thanks, Anthony.
why do I think of picking at scabs after reading your wonderful piece, Tonya. I can relate so much to your words. I am good at burying feelings, learned at a very young age. but, sometimes you reluctantly pick and poke just to see what might be still lurking there.
Picking at scabs is a great metaphor for that feeling. I never really know what I’m going to feel about anything until I’m in the moment, and I’m often surprised by how much is still raw in those old wounds.
Thx, Connie. And many thanks to Tonya for giving voice to the feelings and experiences shared by so many.
Tonya, I finally had time to read this just this morning and damn this is good. The way you capture that carefully crafted indifference that you sometimes need in small towns to survive the bullying is very timely with what's going on in rural America right now. I love your writing.
Thanks so much, Russell!
Thank you for another beautifully written essay.
Your journey this past year reminds me of the struggles of Odysseus to return home and how nature, fate and the gods all interfere
I don’t think it will take you 29 years to find your true home and you mother’s example is your signpost.
And your impressions of Sturgis are familiar to anyone who has just completed an 8 hr drive alone in a car in an interstate
Ha Ha.
Please keep driving and writing !!!.
Ha! You're so right about the effects of long-haul interstate driving. The more I do it, the more I realize it ALWAYS puts me in a grumpy state of mind.
And I love the comparison to Odysseus. I should really dig deep into that one.
Thanks so much, Jim.
This is spot on- I loved it. This place is hard and cold. Unless it is your answer. It was our parents' answer, which is why it was so beautiful living their version of it. I try every day to make it mine, but I haven't gotten there yet.
Thanks so much, Jenni. It helps me to hear you talking about it too, and how that place isn't really yours yet, even after all this time. I think we're always going to be wondering how we could possibly re-create that magic we all had in our house in the woods. We keep looking for it, which is a sign of how powerful it was... But then, look at how happy Mom is now. It traveled with her across the country. I think the model is probably to follow your joy, the way she always has, and then the magic comes from that.
Good piece, it all came through in texture of images and just good writing! Favorite line "I survived in God’s Country by stitching myself a coat of indifference. " I can relate growing up as Air Force Brat we lived in Minot N. Dakota for awhile along with other strip centered towns in other states.
Thanks, Kristen! I can imagine it would have been so similar in Minot--or anyplace like that. A lot of us have a Sturgis-like place in our past that we carry around.
Hi- I’m a grandmother living in Sturgis, raising 2 of my grandsons ages 14 and 15. Reading your story was like listening to the boys tell me about their day. So much rings true. Who is at Regional West, who is cutting themselves, who is vaping in the school bathrooms and who brought vodka to Middle school in their water bottle. Kids are still hanging out at the library and also the Community Center. They think they are the first to do such things. We try to teach them that there is a great big world outside of Sturgis . My job is to keep them safe until they can spread their wings and see this for themselves. I do hope that they will always come home but not with the dread and dark shadow that followed you back. Thank you for the essay.
Thank you so much for your response, Ursula. I’m both glad and sorry that I was able to describe the place in a way that is still recognizable. I was back in Sturgis for a few days last fall, and this piece is just a portion of the experience. I hope to write more soon about how the dread mixes with love. It can be a rough place, but I don’t think anyone can spend time in Sturgis without loving a lot about it too. I think it’s natural to feel both a push and pull about the towns that raised us. Your boys will probably feel the same when they are older--a kind of complicated, and not always willing, connection to the place.
Such a beautifully written and thoughtful comment, Connie. And I love the way you compare that 'vote' to two teenagers in heat--the kind of thoughtless choice that ends up altering everything, forever. Thanks so much, as always, for your savvy reader's eye.