Less than a mile from my childhood home in Dallas, there is an intersection like any other: the four-way stop at Mccallum and Davenport. Here is an image to show you just how nondescript this place really is.
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| Street view image of Mccallum and Davenport from February 2015. Source: Google Maps |
But this is my favorite place in the entire world. I've been to the Rocky Mountains, seen the tropical seas of Hawaii, even meditated atop the Himalayas, but no where on earth holds more value or meaning to me than this particular intersection.
And I really can't explain why. Whenever I drive through this place, a feeling comes over me, one unique to Mccallum and Davenport. It feels so incredibly open, like the sky itself opens up. I feel elevated. Of course, the nostalgia is there as well, as my childhood preschool is just down the street, but it's more than that. This place is a part of me.
You might not understand it, and I'm not asking you to. I've driven through it with friends, family, even girlfriends, and none of them see what I do in it. Ultimately, I just consider myself lucky to have such a special place right in my own backyard.
Ooooooh, what a great way to think about place, Grayson! I'm kind of obsessed with networks and the way that all people are connected to each other in a giant global network (invisible)... and of course roads are like that too, all connected in a network, and there are special places, like intersections, forks in the road, etc. which are crucial to how the network exists. Nodes in the network: they are powerful. It sounds like you are feeling a special power in this particular node of the road network. MAGIC. And if you use the network, you can indeed get from that very intersection all the way to the Himalayas — which is a story I would love to hear about also if you have the chance sometime in a future post... As you will see, the Himalayas are a VERY BIG DEAL in the Indian storytelling tradition! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Grayson, I from the Dallas (Plano) area as well and I feel the exact same way about the apartments I used to live in. When my family first moved here from New York, we used to live in these apartments that had like HUGE cockroaches and my parents hated it. But I met some of my closest friends living there. Though we have since been long gone from that place, every time I pass by it, I feel a certain connection with that street, as well. I feel a sense of calm. I think it is pretty cool that you chose to acknowledge it as your favorite place though.
ReplyDeleteHi Grayson,
ReplyDeleteThis is a really neat place you chose! Its amazing to see how you see something so special and dear in this intersection. Many people point out views and locations to do things at but It awesome that you chose something simple. I wish I could see the beauty in things like you do!We both share a common location and that’s Texas.