Bright Lights Big City

It's a Jimmy Reed tune that's been covered quite a bit as any blues standard should be. It's always been a favorite of mine for some reason. I couldn't find Reed's version or Donald Fagen's (which is probably my favorite cover) but here's a fellow named (I believe) Joey Leone doing the tune.

When I was in my early 20's I dug living downtown (in Charlotte & Myrtle Beach respectively). Being close to everything - mainly within staggering distance of the bars - was a real plus. In some ways I kinda miss it, but there's always been a large part of me that would prefer to live way outside any city limits even though my occupation prevented that for some time. To tell the truth I kinda liked the area of Denver I lived in for a few years & have been to a couple of others that I wouldn't have minded being located in if it weren't for their gun laws (well, & the parking - it's atrocious). Same for Boulder. But whenever I miss living downtown I remind myself of stories like these:

"An armed-robbery suspect remained at large late Wednesday after eluding police in a high-speed chase through Denver."

"Denver is a potential terrorist target because the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District still uses chlorine gas as a disinfectant and receives the chemical by rail, according to a study released this week."

"Authorities are holding a man they believe attempted to set off firebombs under seven SUVs in Cherry Creek over a four-day span last month."

"Arvada - An erratic driver in a gold sport utility vehicle careened into four vehicles Wednesday night, sending six people, including himself and a toddler, to the hospital with serious injuries, police said."

Denver Can Still Go To Hell (Again)

The Security Of Denial; The "Empowerment" Of Ignorance

Not that non-urban areas are trouble free, but I always thought that when too many people live in too close a proximity to each other it's going to create more problems than I care for. Plus the inner tin-foil hatter keeps chirping about a densely populated area being ideal for a terrorist attack or nuke attack. It may seem a bit paranoid but one of the reasons I opted to stay on the west side of the Denver-metro area was that I didn't want a bunch of traffic between me & the mountains in case I ever decided that I needed to head for the hills in a hurry. It wasn't the only reason, but it factored in there somehow.

If my source of income were flexible enough I'd probably settle down either on the Carolina coast someplace (preferably an hour away from any of the tourist traps) or in Boone, NC. There are also some areas of western Colorado, Wyoming & Montana that seem like they'd be livable but not quite as close to the ocean as the first two choices. In any case I won't rule out living in a city again, but it wouldn't be my first choice. If that city was Denver I'd be weary in light of the above linked articles especially with a fleeing violent criminal on the run.

Bright lights, big city definitely ain't gone to my head.

Posted by Publicola at April 5, 2007 02:50 AM | TrackBack