Ohio and more–Part 3

Ohio and more–Part 3

October 21, 2009, 5:52 pm
Filed under: music and musings

I spent my time in the midwest going to different places that my friend Casie found important and awesome. One was a giant grocery store called Jungle Jim’s which carried nearly everything from all over, as well as giant watermelon’s and fruits from all over the world. Outside of the store was a giant gated area with fake huge wildlife such as giraffes and big trees.

They also had a shelf full of snuggies. Only $15.

Snuggies are fascinating and ridiculous. The idea of a big robe that’s basically a blanket with sleeves is so silly.

On the way to Chicago we went to this giant flea market nicknamed “the dirt mall” in Ohio. I found amazing VHS tapes, saw tons of random vintage stuff, and creepy Nazi and KKK paraphernalia. There were also these marionettes and absurd puppets with their mouths open.

We drove from Cincinnati to Chicago where we met up with friends, I ate a burger at a restaurant that names all their burgers after metal bands, and got to see a Gay Mart. Our drive consisted of mix tapes we found and scavenged for in Casie’s car and one we made before we left. This mix tape contained three different homemade mixes that postponed our trip by 2 hours. We had a Jem and the Holograms tape, a tape with House of Pain’s “Jump Around” on it. One song to each side. So one song was the song and one was instrumental. I got to witness Casie Fox’s amazing rapping skills.  We listened to Brainiac, Veruca Salt, tons of mystery tapes with strange noises including random soundblips from Casie’s childhood. We would yell out pony everytime we drove past ponies or a big truck carrying ponies. At the flea markets we had purchased Michael Jackson’s “Bad”, and the Best of Buddy Holly. We also listened to a Blondie/Pat Benetar tape that was basically just the hits.

We passed signs in Indiana for Brownsburg and Whitestown.

In Madison, Wisconsin I sat on the porch of my friend’s house drinking wine and eating food we had made and I felt like I could be so happy if only I could live in the simplicity of a small town. My desire to have a complicated, busy, muddled existence would make it impossible for me to live in a place as beautiful and sweet as Madison. I wished I could have that ability, because it would be so nice, and so cheap and so lovely. But my mind would wander too quickly for a place like Madison. So it is only suitable for me to visit for a couple nights, sit and read outside by the water,  go to some thrift stores, buy some scones and hit the road.

On our way back to Cincinnati, we drove through a bit of Chicago again and passed by an L stop where there was a woman in a wedding dress waiting at the train platform. I wondered whether she was late for her own wedding, or just a crazy woman in a wedding dress.

We drove through Indiana again and passed a huge, vast field of green that looked musty and fresh, just begging to be laid in.

Once returning to Cincinnati we went to Final Friday where all the art galleries downtown are open late. We went to one of Casie’s friend’s places where there was an exhibit that was just Roseanne’s living room. To a T.

My flight back to New York was at 5am the next morning. It was really great to slow down, I loved how parts of it smelled like campfires, and black birds speckled the sky. I enjoyed walking in graveyards to find a mystery box that could contain god knows what but it became dark before we came upon it. We also watched a lot of ghost stories on tv and I learned about a haunted bar. The midwest does seem like the perfect place to find ghost stories, whether or not you believe in them.

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