The spirit of America is running through this piece. Reminded me of my favorite line from Didion, when she says the “secret point of money and power in America” is “the desire to be able to find a restaurant open in case you want a sandwich, to be a free agent, live by one’s own rules.”
Thank you for capturing this particular aspect of being an American expat so well. Since I left I've felt much more warmly towards America's rougher edges, for lack of a better word; not because I've lost left-leaning values but because I find the European romanticisation of them a bit exhausting. Especially when it seems like all talk and no action, in the case of things like the UK gov sending vans to collect undocumented immigrants. This is illegal, but the loophole is that it's fine if the person comes willingly. (There are charities dedicated to communicating to undocumented immigrants that they have the right to say no to this.) I think outside of the UK, especially after Brexit, (and because the UK gov't is such an obvious mess), that kind of condescending 'America... so sad' head-shaking is more prominent, but it feels like a convenient distraction to solving their own massive issues.
Thanks for this restorative. Like a bitter-sweet emetic. I spent some strange years in St Petersburg, where is Kerouac's last house and the hospital where he died. The bars he frequented are long gone. But not the trees he is supposed to have climbed into and howled in the darkness some drunken nights, disturbing the neighbors. What I learned from Kerouac was how to be alive and alone.
The spirit of America is running through this piece. Reminded me of my favorite line from Didion, when she says the “secret point of money and power in America” is “the desire to be able to find a restaurant open in case you want a sandwich, to be a free agent, live by one’s own rules.”
Thank you for capturing this particular aspect of being an American expat so well. Since I left I've felt much more warmly towards America's rougher edges, for lack of a better word; not because I've lost left-leaning values but because I find the European romanticisation of them a bit exhausting. Especially when it seems like all talk and no action, in the case of things like the UK gov sending vans to collect undocumented immigrants. This is illegal, but the loophole is that it's fine if the person comes willingly. (There are charities dedicated to communicating to undocumented immigrants that they have the right to say no to this.) I think outside of the UK, especially after Brexit, (and because the UK gov't is such an obvious mess), that kind of condescending 'America... so sad' head-shaking is more prominent, but it feels like a convenient distraction to solving their own massive issues.
Thank you for reading, Nikkitha! Yeah, I agree with you re: Europeans externalizing onto the US.
Its a complex country, if you ever fancy a beer in high price Sweden let me know
Sounds good. DM me. Prices arent high compared to the US, 35 kr for a beer! 🤣
Keep your papers in order no matter who's "in charge."
Thanks for this restorative. Like a bitter-sweet emetic. I spent some strange years in St Petersburg, where is Kerouac's last house and the hospital where he died. The bars he frequented are long gone. But not the trees he is supposed to have climbed into and howled in the darkness some drunken nights, disturbing the neighbors. What I learned from Kerouac was how to be alive and alone.
What a lovely comment! Thanks for the info, Clark. Love St Pete.