It's funny that you are writing this. I was just telling a friend of mine the other day that I feel like I am an unwilling actor in a science fiction movie.
When I lived in Texas, I was having a hard time finding friends. I was beginning to get very lonely. You never knew, as nice as people seemed to be, what their politics were. Demographically, where I lived (the peninsula in the middle of Joe Pool Lake) in Grand Prairie, there were a lot of Democrats, but I had a hard time finding them because there can be repercussions if you "outed yourself" as a Democrat, anything from getting a lecture from right wing supporters to getting your tires slashed.
I decided to start a Meetup (before COVID) called "Left-Leaning Women's Club" (ever the antagonist, in a red state, no less.). The first meeting was the day after Trump was elected for the first time. About 25 women from all walks of life had arrived. I had prepared an introduction in advance and during the introductions to each other, requested they also gave a brief statement about what brought them there. I assumed people meeting each other for the first time would be shy, so I brought a lot to say. Not so. When people were introducing themselves, there was a lot of weeping, not only about Trump being elected, but that they could not let on to friends, lovers, and husbands that they were secretly left-leaning. I got through the election results by believing his election was just an anomaly, I just had to survive the next 4 years and then he would be gone! UGH!
They had been devastated and were in the same situation as I was, even though many of them had lived there a long time. Our Meetup was the first time many of them ever let anyone know. Most of them were thanking me for providing a venue in a safe environment, where they could finally talk about it. Lots of them became best friends. Unfortunately, my husband and I were relocating back to California so I had to turn the Meetup over to other people; happy to be returning to California but sad to leave now that I had found some like-minded friends.
I didn't get along with Texas for various reasons, but mostly it was like a foreign country to me having been born and raised in California. The way I survived it was to look at it objectively as a cultural experience in a different country. That almost made it OK (I know you grew up there, or at least born there. I hope I'm not offending you with this. Texans are a proud people).
Anyhow, I am all about supporting you in this undertaking and can't wait to read your next chapter!
I was born in Austin, both of my parents were from the DFW area but I mostly grew up from kindergarten through three years of community college in Saint Louis MO. But I did spend many summers with my grandparents in Fort Worth and moved there after college. I got accustomed to the Texas culture. That is different that saying I liked it. But I think I liked it better than Saint Louis. So no, it would be hard to offend me in that regard. I am more of a universal citizen making my way in a strange world as I see it. I have my own views but even those are mailable. "results pending" I like to say. I tend to be tolerant of others, even indulgent like someone who looks upon all of us, myself included as mentally and emotionally challenged misfits just trying to make our way through life without too much trouble. So, I try to mostly spend my time having my own kind of fun.
By the way, if it ever becomes a movie, I just stumbled on some good, ominous background music. As stand alone listening music it is not the best, but for background mood setting it is perfect: there are various moods to the music, but for mysterious music: Foggy Mountain Break Down, and all the following pieces: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kWOhSlIHaZXOvJyghXP2CC-_ZoWTv77Mk
It's funny that you are writing this. I was just telling a friend of mine the other day that I feel like I am an unwilling actor in a science fiction movie.
When I lived in Texas, I was having a hard time finding friends. I was beginning to get very lonely. You never knew, as nice as people seemed to be, what their politics were. Demographically, where I lived (the peninsula in the middle of Joe Pool Lake) in Grand Prairie, there were a lot of Democrats, but I had a hard time finding them because there can be repercussions if you "outed yourself" as a Democrat, anything from getting a lecture from right wing supporters to getting your tires slashed.
I decided to start a Meetup (before COVID) called "Left-Leaning Women's Club" (ever the antagonist, in a red state, no less.). The first meeting was the day after Trump was elected for the first time. About 25 women from all walks of life had arrived. I had prepared an introduction in advance and during the introductions to each other, requested they also gave a brief statement about what brought them there. I assumed people meeting each other for the first time would be shy, so I brought a lot to say. Not so. When people were introducing themselves, there was a lot of weeping, not only about Trump being elected, but that they could not let on to friends, lovers, and husbands that they were secretly left-leaning. I got through the election results by believing his election was just an anomaly, I just had to survive the next 4 years and then he would be gone! UGH!
They had been devastated and were in the same situation as I was, even though many of them had lived there a long time. Our Meetup was the first time many of them ever let anyone know. Most of them were thanking me for providing a venue in a safe environment, where they could finally talk about it. Lots of them became best friends. Unfortunately, my husband and I were relocating back to California so I had to turn the Meetup over to other people; happy to be returning to California but sad to leave now that I had found some like-minded friends.
I didn't get along with Texas for various reasons, but mostly it was like a foreign country to me having been born and raised in California. The way I survived it was to look at it objectively as a cultural experience in a different country. That almost made it OK (I know you grew up there, or at least born there. I hope I'm not offending you with this. Texans are a proud people).
Anyhow, I am all about supporting you in this undertaking and can't wait to read your next chapter!
I was born in Austin, both of my parents were from the DFW area but I mostly grew up from kindergarten through three years of community college in Saint Louis MO. But I did spend many summers with my grandparents in Fort Worth and moved there after college. I got accustomed to the Texas culture. That is different that saying I liked it. But I think I liked it better than Saint Louis. So no, it would be hard to offend me in that regard. I am more of a universal citizen making my way in a strange world as I see it. I have my own views but even those are mailable. "results pending" I like to say. I tend to be tolerant of others, even indulgent like someone who looks upon all of us, myself included as mentally and emotionally challenged misfits just trying to make our way through life without too much trouble. So, I try to mostly spend my time having my own kind of fun.
Yes, St. Louis is not for the faint of heart. I lived in Missouri for about 3 years in Columbia. Nice town.
By the way, if it ever becomes a movie, I just stumbled on some good, ominous background music. As stand alone listening music it is not the best, but for background mood setting it is perfect: there are various moods to the music, but for mysterious music: Foggy Mountain Break Down, and all the following pieces: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kWOhSlIHaZXOvJyghXP2CC-_ZoWTv77Mk
Christine