Comments | cris: breaking up the monotony

cris

breaking up the monotony

Jul 23, 2003 10:00

Sunday, 13 July 2003On Sunday morning, before I left for North Carolina, my sister took me to Cendrillon, a Filipino restaurant in SoHo. As befits the neighborhood pedigree, Cendrillon had a well composed look of tall ceilings, exposed brick and understated folk art. "Surprisingly nice," was my comment to my sister, as we waited for seats ( Read more... )

travel, philippines, food, family

Comments 7

brigid July 23 2003, 07:13:19 UTC

more stuff on the way like boxes for bridget?
i am giving you your table back. i might need my dresser.

beeop

cris July 25 2003, 05:46:03 UTC

yeah, though it'll take me some time to unpack them. Should have them unpacked and ready for pickup by Sunday. I can give back the dresser if you need it, but can't really use the table. If you can find another owner for it, that'd be cool.

brigid July 25 2003, 10:22:45 UTC

tues or thursday then? i will be away this weekend in ny to see my parents.

are you shure i can give away the table?

rojagato July 23 2003, 07:23:13 UTC

This is all so beautiful, Cris. And you haven't even crossed the Mason-Dixon yet.

I can hardly wait for the Deep South part, but I wonder whether it will be like reading about place to which I've never been. The last time I opened my eyes in 'Bama, I was an adolescent trying to dump my drawl.

cris July 25 2003, 05:55:54 UTC

that reminds me ... where is the Mason-Dixon line, anyway? Driving through Maryland into Virginia, I was expecting to see some sign saying "Crossing Mason-Dixon. Prepare to declare all electronics, college textbooks and Catholics in your possession." (with the reverse direction asking for "bourbon, firearms and strippers" I suppose)

rojagato July 25 2003, 06:51:04 UTC

It runs further north than we usually think. Remember: the only reason that Maryland didn't try to secede was because it was under marshall law, and DC was a city under threat of or under actual seige during the Civil War.

Technically, the line is Maryland's border with Pennsylvania and Delaware, and if there are any signs, that's where they would be.

The psychological line shifts according to one's scholarship. I think most people understand it to be an figure of speech, a convenient way to imagine the divide between the slave-holding and free states, or between the Yanks and the Rebs, but Maryland, Missouri, Delaware, New Jersey, and West Virginia resist the binary categorizations and keep the division from being a very neat one.

It's just a state of mind, I think. I felt acutely that I was in a southern place when I lived in DC, while Baltimore felt very northern to me--all a result of what happened after the war, I'm sure.

Welcome back!

rojagato July 25 2003, 11:12:32 UTC

it was under marshall law

Um, in English, that would be martial law.