March 21, 2006

Why The Burbs?
I have a lot of friends living in exotic places and doing exciting things. I don’t live in an exotic place and rarely do exciting things. Although last night, I did go fishing with some friends. We didn’t catch anything. I did not even hold a fishing rod. I sat on the beach with a beer minding the dogs while the men folk did the hunting. They aren’t very good hunters. We had toasted sandwiches for dinner (sans poissons).

But back to The Burbs. These friends, those that live in exotic places and are doing exciting things, have set up web logs and web pages so that I can see what exciting things they do in these exotic places. I am not the only person not living in an exciting place and not doing exotic things (although I did have a mojito recently). It is time our story was told. The story of The Burbs.

I must be honest. I did once live in a semi exotic place and I did do exciting things. I can prove it from the photo around here somewhere of me and my husband at the top of a mountain we walked up in France (we got the ski lift down. Phew). The grass is always greener. When I was away, sometimes, all I wanted was to sit on the beach at home. Like in the other photo of me with my sister. Now I can sit on this beach every day, I am a little bit over it and jealous of friends living in exotic places and doing exciting things. But for now, I am in the Burbs, and I do like it. I love my garden and my tomato plants. And last night, (notwithstanding the utter lack of fish), the beach was beautiful.
So for those of us that don’t live in exotic places and don’t do exciting things, The Burbs is the antidote. Read it and weep.

3 comments:

Jamie said...

Finally got around to reading this. You've got a new fan... I was excitedly about to link you when I noticed that my wonderfully fleet-fingered wife had already done so :-) Love your work kids, and looking forward to more -- despite the fact that reading about the burbs has made me more homesick than I've been in a while :-( Much love, Jamie

Anonymous said...

Are you serious Jamie? Surely Belgium trumps the Perth burbs any day?

Burbs Queen said...

Clive James used a memorable phrase in his book 'Unreliable Memoirs'.

"the invisible waves of recollection" - they eventually draw us all back. The place is never enough - its what you left there that makes home so compelling.