independent nr "so you're pretty independent?" she asked. i furrowed my brow a bit and looked at her. "how do you mean?" she meant because i don't have much family here (not knowing about the family i do have here) and am on my own. does being alone equal being independent? 221027 ... past you see this in other contexts, people in small towns or rural areas are independent because they have to figure stuff out or do potentially risky repairs themselves and hope for the best because their areas lack the critical mass to support specialists you can hire to do it for you. they're alone and so, sure, in a way these people are more independent, but they're also more at risk. i like the trade off of living in a community big enough for all kinds of private and public sector supports to exist, because if my furnace breaks down i don't want to go in there myself when i can call a someone who actually knows what they're doing to fix it without blowing up the house. or if my kids busts a tooth on a sunday, there's enough dentists that there's always one open 24/7/365 to pull the tooth. these supports help me be more independent and free. I'm not chained by my lack of competence and can decide for myself what to specialize in. because i am not alone, i can do more of what i want on my own (or, i guess to be honest, on the kids') schedule, more or less. those who are stuck doing it themselves are more tied to their own (lack of) skill, and it restrains their horizon for action. anyways, what were we talking about? community is a prerequisite for independence and freedom, but being alone is a different axes. maybe? 221028 ... tender_square i fell in love with a new band out of chicago when i heard them on the radio. and i just knew when i learned of their locale and the way they sounded like the frantic pace of wire meeting the riffs of television that they'd be playing live in detroit soon. it's two months from now in a club i've never been to and the only person i know who would be even remotely interested in going is heading to the east coast then. i bought a single ticket anyway. i'm going to be anonymous in a crowd of people i don't know, with music as my companion for the night. 230727 what's it to you? who go blather from