I think it’ll be fine

Every single day, I’ve seen at least one melt-your-heart precious dog, one person who’s too beautiful to look at, one moment so tragic/stunning that it should be on film, and one pair of awesome, covet-worthy sneakers. I’ve eaten amazing burgers in parks filled with art; I’ve sipped $2 PBRs and watched famous and soon-to-be-famous comedians perform brand new shows in a theater under a grocery store; I’ve paid for insanely expensive vodka tonics at clubs where men wear ties and women wear stilettos but you can tell who the dealers are because they’re allowed to wear orange crocs and parachute pants (jealous!). I’ve been harassed in every way possible by taxi drivers, strangers on the subway, Upper East Side frat boys and unidentifiable loiterers. I’ve paid way too much for EVERYTHING, and I’ve gotten way too angry way too often at people I don’t even know. There were definitely operas, concerts, museums, gardens, outdoor movies and sidewalk cafes, but there were also manic fashion publicists, roaches, scary moments, failed attempts at 80s-chic drug use and crowds so claustrophobic I risked diving into oncoming traffic if it meant even one full breath of air that wasn’t just exhaled by someone 5 inches away from me.

So! Yeah, my feelings are clearly conflicting, and I haven’t even been here very long.

People who’ve been in New York their entire lives may be even less sure what they think of the place, but they do seem to get better and better at expressing themselves and less and less able to leave. Below are clips from Woody Allen’s Manhattan and Spike Lee’s 25th Hour (Mom- you may want to skip this second one. It’s not violent or anything but it’s way vulgar and angry). Once I get some distance between me and Manhattan, it’s hard to say whether I’ll forget what was so great/awful about it all or whether I’ll forever feel some magnetic force dragging me back. Only time will tell? Enjoy the clips!

A week or so ago, two towns achieved unexpected levels of notoriety through their inclusion in a New York Times story. Unfortunately, the reason for their mention in the piece is probably making life difficult for some small-town public-sector publicist.

According to the piece:

In 1991, less than 1 percent of children in the states with personal-belief exemptions went without vaccines based on the exemption; by 2004, the most recent year for which data are available, the percentage had increased to 2.54 percent, said Saad B. Omer, an assistant scientist at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

According to a 2006 article in The Journal of The American Medical Association, exemption rates of 15 percent to 18 percent have been found in Ashland, Ore. , and Vashon, Wash.

Ooooops… so what’s up? Is something weird going on out there? Ashland is located off of I-5 just north of the Oregon-California border and has a population of about 21,000 these days, according to Wikipedia.

So maybe it’s the home of a weird anti-modern-health cult or something? Maybe… but it doesn’t really seem like it. The top five employers in the area are:

1. Southern Oregon University
2. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
3. Ashland Public Schools
4. Ashland Community Hospital
5. The City of Ashland

So. First things first: The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the #2 employer? More details please.

Ok. The Festival puts on 11 plays from February thru October. Only 4 or 5 of the plays they perform are actually by William Shakespeare, which frankly makes me question the appropriateness of the festival’s name, but I’m willing to let it go because the outdoor stage looks adorable.

The first season of the festival was held in 1935 over Independence Day weekend, and since then OSF has become a huuuuge deal. Visitors to the town aren’t even called tourists, they’re called “playgoers”. According to Wikipedia, the performances draw as many as 400,000 audience members each season. And check out this theater complex!!:

The 2008 season looks totally sweet too, so I’m definitely going to stop by. I’ll try to avoid measle-y looking kids, but seems like maybe it’s worth it?

Links:

Public Health Risk As Parents Reject Vaccines [NYTimes]

City of Ashland Official Website

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Official Website (they have a play called The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler… YES.)