11 years out: miss s.

I met S. in New York City, where we used to go skating together. I remember being envious but also very inspired by her: what a cool person, always so sure of herself! working at Troma films, struggling but making it through a very prestigious film school.

A few years later after this interview, before she was barely 25, she started her own company after slaving away at various ad agencies working with big clients. I remember reading articles interviewing her in this really professional tone and I couldn't possibly imagine her in a suit, she would always be that girl with a skateboard to me.

I remember during one of my last nights living in New York we had dinner together, and she was telling me how she'd go home and get called a yuppie by her hometown friends. Sometimes in small towns people don't want you to get noticed, to try to do something more than what you have to, to try new things--it scares them. I really loved being around S. because she wasn't one of those girls obsessed with what people thought of her. It's very hard to find young women who are their own people. It's even difficult to find women who are their own people.

I don't know where she is now. It wouldn't be that hard to find her. If you are out there, as I said, I'll take it down to protect your innocence, but it's very sweet to see that part of you from 11 years ago. Of all the people I've spoken to, and I'm not even able to put all of my interviews in here because some of them are really too intense even for me, I feel like S. is more or less the same, a very confident, steady, down-to-earth person. Some people get dazzled and change, but some people find their values very early on and stick to them.

What point are you at in your life right now? Where are you living, what job are you working?

Well, I have one more year of college to go, I'm 21, living on a friend's floor in the East Village and working a dead end data entry job.

(stuff cut out by me) What jobs did you work and when were you in Michigan?

Jobs... Well, I assembled automotive parts for a while, I made sun visors for Lincoln's and Ford's. I worked at Tyson foods, a pork factory. I worked in the hot dog/cold cut division there. That was a nutty job. I worked in a movie theater for a long time... "Hi, welcome to Star, would you like to try our super savings combo?" I also made an industrial video for Mead Johnson.

What part of the Midwest are you from? What do you have to say about it?

I'm from southwest Michigan, a little city called _____. It was very conservative and dull. I really never liked it much. I have no desire to ever move back there.

What's the scene like?

There isn't really much of a scene. There's always a few kids that skate and are into ____, but you have to drive 3 hours at the least to get to Chicago or Detroit to see a show. The number of kids in scenes are a lot smaller, and you realize that they all hang out together because of common interests, but don't necessarily like one another. There's a lot of backstabbing and "inbreeding" within the groups. I think the scenes are only important to the people involved in them. Most people in small towns don't know or understand anything about subcultures.

What's the worst case of backstabbing?

I don't remember much specifically, I just remember everyone sort of shit talking each other all the time and stealing each other's girlfriends. But then they'd still hang out. One guy once just started listing everyone he hated to me and their personality flaws, then when they got in the car he treated them like he loved them.

Do you have any sayings/truisms about the Midwest? Are there certain mindsets? What are the good points about the Midwest? The bad points?

The state saying is "Say yes to Michigan." Michigan is typically a very conservative place. To me that is the most major bad point. The good points are the accessibility to nature and parking lots.

What about the llamas?

Some farm kid brought some llamas to my high school once. They don't smell too nice.

What do people who went to your high school do now? Do you relate to them?

I think they're either all married or going to schools in the Midwest. I really can't still relate to them, or maybe it's really the other way around. They all thought I was a little weird for taking off to New York, like I'm some kind of freak or something.

WWF. Expand on this topic.

The Hulkster rules!

Do you ge sick of people being biased against you because of the state you're from? Do you find yourself doing the same thing? How much does your geography affect your way of life?

Sometimes I get shit for my accent, but that has really toned down, my accent I mean. And now I say soda instead of pop, and I use the term sneakers. I guess living in one place and liking it makes you want to be a normal part of it. I find New York a lot more convenient than Michigan. You get used to not needing a car.

You should never give up your accent!

Yeah, I suppose it gives me some sort of personality, like my Midwest calling card or something.

If you have left (or will leave) do you think you'll ever return?

Well, all I can say about home is... it's a nice place to VISIT. I don't plan to move back.

Where do all the kids go to do the bad things? What are some famous incidents?

Denny's, the all night grocery store, Walmart... that's about all that's open after 10pm. There is this tulip festival and picking the tulips is finable. One person handed out free tulip coupons to tourists and said they could redeem them with the cops. All these old tour bus riders got scammed.

What's the weirdest thing that ever happened to you?

I saw a UFO... but I don't want to get into it.

I heard they have surfers on Lake Michigan. That's pretty demented. And I thought the East Coast waves were pretty flat! I can't imagine surfing Lake Michigan.

I don't think you could really call them surfers. They just sort of float, it's more like bodyboarding that they do.

Who are the people that you admire that come from the Midwest?

My dad is a really great person, I wnat to be like him when i grow up. He's funny and open-minded. And my high school art teacher was great.

What's with those monster big wheels trucks?

That's all we drive in the Midwest. The roads are really bumpy, ya know.