11 years out: interview with D.

I never knew this person very well but was quite charmed by him. I think I know how to find him; I have a hunch that he is living in some exotic country at the moment. Exotic to me at least--perhaps somewhere in Asia.

My questions... well I have many, and I am reconsidering reinterviewing these people eleven years later. One thing I was always wondering was, well--You are no longer living in your hometown (most likely, right?) but do you still have the same feelings about the place that you expressed in this interview 11 years ago?

We always have a love-hate relationship with wherever we live. Half the point of living in New York is to love it as much as you hate it, curse it as much as you praise it.

When I go to places where people unconditionally love everything, I get a little unnerved. There are always things that drive me crazy about a place, but in the end, I generally appreciate where I live. The same could be said about San Francisco, where I had one of the most pleasant weekends I've had in a while experiencing so many things that were unique to the city: crashing someone's kickball party in the park and getting invited to join in or the simple pleasures of watching the sun set brilliant purple on the horizon. You learn to keep the negative aspects to yourself once you start living here long enough though. :)

So D., where are you now? It would be a pleasant surprise if we were even in walking distance next to each other and could enjoy this conversation over lunch or dinner. I will also take this down if you wish--it was published a long time ago, maybe some things are better left in the past. Do you still feel the same away about where you came from? People change so much in the course of a decade... I'm just so interested to know how you feel about things now.

What are you doing right now?

I'm a waiter. Waiting on tables and waiting to exit the Midwest. I serve sushi--but I'd rather be in Japan. I drink Guiness but would prefer to be visiting relatives in Ireland. After this last trip, Europe to the Middle East, the urge to be someplace else is always on me. I have to finally extinguish any nostalgia or reliance on this state.

What part of the Midwest are you from?

The Westside of Indianapolis. I was an apartment kid. My family is from Southern Indiana: Bedford, Oolitic, Bloomington.

The scene

Indianapolis has little to offer. A million people and not a tingue of the underground. All culture is imported. Artists and musicians have trouble finding an original voice. The Klan and militia are probably more organized and active than our scenesters.
Sayings: "Let me tell your majesty about music. Suppose that your majesty were to have a concert held here, and the mass of your subjects on hearing the sound of your majesty's bells and drums and the notes of your flues should all suffer headahces, make faces, and complain to one another. If our kind is so fond of having music played, why does he reduce us to such an extremity that fathers and sons and brothers are not on speaking terms; wives and children are scatterd." - from the Sayings of Mencius. *Indiana music does create headaches, causes one to make faces and complain.

What about the llamas?

I'm an avid follower of the work of Lorenzo Llamas, soap hunk.

What do people who went to your high school do now?

They chose instate colleges and never leave their compact, naive, Midwestern world. The trailer park kids work at area grocery stores, deliver pizzas, and work construction. I've spoken to one person (voluntarily) since high school--he's gone bald and is now in the rockin' world of plastic sales.

Bias against Indianans?

When I was in Europe, I was an ambitious liar. "Where ya from, mate?" "Chicago." I lived in Chicago for eight months and believed that was enough to qualify me for big city status. After a month I dropped "Chicago" and said Indianapolis--which always led to a discussion of the 500 race. Since I lived near the Speedway--the race is one of my least favorite topics. (several parts cut out by me)

Will you return?

After this time, no.

Where do the kids go to do the dirty and evil things?

Driving lowered pick up trucks with graphics and neon lights underneath. They drive in continuous circles around the sailors and soldiers monument. Their cruising is accompanied by catcalls to sixteen year olds with bad perms and piss-awful music.

Weirdest thing that's ever happened to you:

Abroad, plenty of events took place. There is still mystery in European cities and definitely in the Middle East & Turkey. Back in Indiana you have to create weirdness. Like when I was arrested wearing a pink gorilla suit at a _____ protest.

Coolest places to visit.

There is a creepy landmark just outside of Bloomington called the "barnhouse." It is located at the end of a long gravel road. Imagine the most frightening haunted house--double it in size--then picture the entire house built from scrap wood. The owner, a red-haired, toothless man who keeps his "boy" around for company build the house by himself. The purpose of the house was as a fortress of protection from the upcoming race war. Since then there isn't a black person near this town; nor will there ever be. It was a wasted effort. For one dollar you can tour the "barn house" It's truly amazing. Hidden passages, slides, labyrinth rooms (over 40), twisting staircases, booby traps, spooky decorations. There is even a door rigged up to decapitate an intruder by a swinging blade.

Whom do you admire?

My grandfather, for his limestone carvings and his passion to continue artistry during financial hardship.

(stuff cut out by me)

Well, what about the cutters?

The name comes from the limestone cutters, the rugged and rough men who did the backbreaking work in the quarries. The famous bike race, the little 500, allowed some local boys to enter the race one year and they surprisingly beat the fraternities. The "cutters" have raced ever since, one of the only independent, non-Greek teams.

What about the Indiana accent?

Soft and polite for the average family. The rednecked trailer kids, apartment kids and others tend to adapt a falsified "black" accent during their teenaged years. In Southern Indiana the language is so simple, half twang/half Northern proper, that a five minute conversation can bore me standing up. If I want bad grammar and Southern twang, I want the real deal, not this watered-down mix.