Middle of Nowhere...

 

According to the Washington Post Glasgow, Montana is the official Middle of Nowhere in the United States.  Glasgow, population of around 75,000, is 4 ½ hours from any other major city.

Of course there is also a town in Oklahoma that is actually named Nowhere.  Imagine saying that you are from Nowhere.  It could develop into an entire “Who’s on first” thing.

When people say they are visiting or living in a city, it is often because where they really are is near a city that people have heard of and no one has ever heard of where they actually are, so they just say they are in the bigger city.   I personally never say I am from Erie.  I just say Northwest Pennsylvania .  One time when I was in Upper New York State near the Vermont border, I said that, and the person asked me the name of the town. When I responded Corry, they got the biggest smile. They were from Spartansburg  - about 6 miles away. It was nice  -- a moment of bonding over living in the:

middle of nowhere

backwoods

wilds

you can’t get there from here

boonies

boondocks

sticks

hicksville

Now here's the thing. There is a lot to be said for living relatively untouched by the outside world.  I mean – you know the world is there, but it ignores you and underestimates you.  It is a position of power actually. Think about that for a moment, and unless you are one of those who thinks that bigger is always better or one of those who thinks you are too good to live in any one of the above list of places, you will get it.

One further point – sort of related…   It occurs to me suddenly out of the blue ... that the town of Northeast, Pennsylvania is actually in Northwest Pennsylvania.  Now I am wondering why Northeast is called Northeast.  Hmmm…  One has the time to think about things like that when they live in the middle of nowhere.   

Second further point -- you can get here from there. My small city in Northwest Pennsylvania is almost smack dab in the middle of where they say "it" is happening.  My small city is sort of equidistant from three cities people have heard of --  Cleveland is "Westish", Pittsburgh is "Southish", and Buffalo is "Northish". Personally I prefer in the middle of nowhere. No offense intended to all you city slickers or city slicker want-to-bes out there. 

It has been said more than once, actually, that "Some call it the middle of nowhere. We call it the center of everything."  I even saw that on a poster somewhere.  I think it was an America Crop Producer poster.  Where would you be without them? Grocery stores don't produce food, it comes from places listed above.

One last thing.... Just curious....  Is anyone besides me asking what happened to all the homeless people in San Francisco who where moved for the visit of Xi Jinping et al.  Did they disappear? Were they allowed to take their tents with them?  Were they rehomed under a highway overpass?  Will they come back once the VIP's are gone?  They don't seem to be in the Middle of Nowhere.   Asking for a friend.