OK. I admit it. This first factor sounds just a bit odd.
Neither Jiggs nor I are going to get another degree.
So, why worry about being somewhere near a university?
Anyone who has lived in a university town will understand what I am after.
Universities are cultural magnets. Symphony orchestras. Chamber orchestras. Art exhibits. Film festivals. Plays. Lectures. Libraries. Discussions over coffee.
Not to mention the popular culture attractions. Where there are students, there will be entertainment.
Plus that unquantifiable vibrancy that exists wherever young people congregate. Just before I left Salem, I befriended a young man at our church. It was always a joy to talk with him. His energy was almost contagious. After talking with him, I almost felt a decade younger.
With the exception of two years in the Air Force, I have lived in university towns. Portland. Denver. Oxford. Salem. And I have learned to depend on what they have to offer.
Melaque is not on the list.
Even though I have never been part of the academic community, I have certainly feasted on the hors d'œuvre.
In August, I gave Melaque a "D" as a grade on this factor.
The closest university of any size is located in Guadalajara -- a day's travel away. You would think that an "F" would be a fair grade on this factor. But there were mitigating circumstances. (Please recall that I was once a criminal defense attorney.)
I have met two people in town who would qualify as intellectual stimulants: a retired French archaeologist and a professor of Rhetoric from a large Midwestern university. I am certain there must be others.
This is an important factor for me, and I have already felt its absence in the last two months. In defense of Melaque, it does not pretend to be Cambridge. It is what it is: a little tourist town on the beach.
And that is the deal I have struck with myself. Enjoy Melaque for the sand, sun, and surf. But be ready to move on to something a bit more challenging when the time comes -- if the other factors weigh in that direction. Because there are plenty of places in Mexico that draw their cultural energy from their universities -- one of them is pictured at the top of this post.
Tomorrow we will talk about another intellectual pursuit: archaeology.
Neither Jiggs nor I are going to get another degree.
So, why worry about being somewhere near a university?
Anyone who has lived in a university town will understand what I am after.
Universities are cultural magnets. Symphony orchestras. Chamber orchestras. Art exhibits. Film festivals. Plays. Lectures. Libraries. Discussions over coffee.
Not to mention the popular culture attractions. Where there are students, there will be entertainment.
Plus that unquantifiable vibrancy that exists wherever young people congregate. Just before I left Salem, I befriended a young man at our church. It was always a joy to talk with him. His energy was almost contagious. After talking with him, I almost felt a decade younger.
With the exception of two years in the Air Force, I have lived in university towns. Portland. Denver. Oxford. Salem. And I have learned to depend on what they have to offer.
Melaque is not on the list.
Even though I have never been part of the academic community, I have certainly feasted on the hors d'œuvre.
In August, I gave Melaque a "D" as a grade on this factor.
The closest university of any size is located in Guadalajara -- a day's travel away. You would think that an "F" would be a fair grade on this factor. But there were mitigating circumstances. (Please recall that I was once a criminal defense attorney.)
I have met two people in town who would qualify as intellectual stimulants: a retired French archaeologist and a professor of Rhetoric from a large Midwestern university. I am certain there must be others.
This is an important factor for me, and I have already felt its absence in the last two months. In defense of Melaque, it does not pretend to be Cambridge. It is what it is: a little tourist town on the beach.
And that is the deal I have struck with myself. Enjoy Melaque for the sand, sun, and surf. But be ready to move on to something a bit more challenging when the time comes -- if the other factors weigh in that direction. Because there are plenty of places in Mexico that draw their cultural energy from their universities -- one of them is pictured at the top of this post.
Tomorrow we will talk about another intellectual pursuit: archaeology.
