The contradiction of "community"

More than a year ago, I wrote about the lack of community - more accurately, a lack of connection to any of our nearby neighbors in our old apartment building.

We lived there several years; in our building, there were 14 apartments. Turnover was moderate.

In that time, I can think of eight people we acquainted with on any sort of level. (That doesn't count the one-time idiots below us, who insisted on blaring music on Christmas day a few years ago while we tried to enjoy dinner with my parents and my aunt and uncle. I pounded on their door, twice, with all I could. I guess they couldn't hear me over that damn music.)

In less than a month at our new place, we already have some sort of acquaintance with six.

It's strange that when people were so closely packed together, as we were in the apartments, there was zero sense of community. Now that we have bigger houses and a lot fewer people we share a wall with, we have people who come to greet us.

I have a couple of theories that I'd love to share, but one wonders how they'll be construed by the wider internets. Rather than risk it - a small risk, as there's nothing mean-spirited or otherwise derisive about it - I'll just keep them to myself.

To me, though, it just seems an interesting juxtaposition.

-- COUNTERCULTURE, SQUARED: As we moved the final items out of the apartment this afternoon, we stopped at Taco Bell for some quick dinner. While we were there, a guy came in with some friends; he had a green-tipped mohawk. A spiky one at that.

I mentioned to my wife that back in college, we had a saying for that sort of moment (that, unlike above, is completely derisive in both tone and content). It's an "Awww, Notice Me" moment, though words on a screen don't convey how snarky it sounds.

If, I told her, he really cared about being countercultured, he wouldn't care how he looked. Our society praises appearance as much as anything; the one respite, it seems, is complete visual slobbery. But isn't it rather contradictory to, on one hand, flaunt society's norms, yet somehow spend (what I assume is) an inordinate amount of time preening in front of the mirror, making sure each hair is straight up and colored green at just the right spot? Somewhere, Paul Mitchell beams with pride.

But you know what they say about the ends and the means...

He made his statement.

We chuckled to ourselves and kept eating.

Welcome, spring

From earlier this evening:

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1115 PM EDT THU MAY 8 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
 PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY IN CENTRAL MARYLAND...
 ST. MARYS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MARYLAND...
 FAIRFAX COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA...
 PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA...

* UNTIL 1215 AM EDT

* AT 1114 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
 DEVELOPING TORNADO 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF FREDERICKSBURG...MOVING NORTHEAST
 AT 19 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW! IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS!

OK, the truth is that isn't a real National Weather Service alert. I reconstituted a later one because I couldn't find the original.

But you can understand my concern when Doug Hill breaks into the newscast and announces that the National Weather Service has just issued a tornado warning for five different counties; Fairfax was one of them.

A Doppler-indicated tornado had been observed in far southeast Prince William County - the same county where I work - and was somewhere between north and northeast. Due north would drop the storm right near our house.

I got myself mentally ready. I had listened to what Hill had said earlier: If a strong wind suddenly comes out of the blue, that's your cue to find shelter. I was thinking I'd have to get Linds out of bed, we'd head downstairs to the bathroom there and wait it out, hoping for the best. The cats most assuredly wouldn't follow, but we'd cross that bridge when we came to it, I guess...

Fortunately for us, the severe storm veered eastward and away from us. Though it's hard to be too happy when our regional neighbors may be out of home. The tornado came rather close to La Plata, Md., which was devastated by an F4 tornado six years ago.

I remember that storm. I was sitting alone in the old townhouse - the 'Bachelor Pad' townhouse with Keith and Kipp - and was taken aback by the sudden, considerable downfall of hail. It rained like crazy, as hard as I'd ever recall seeing. It was a bad storm for us, to be sure; but when it hit the water, it got so much worse.

This one was nothing like that. Aside from some moments of heavy rain and a crack of thunder that rattled the house (and scared the living shit out of me), there were no hairy moments.

All in all, it's been a hell of a week, what with the microquake and now a tornado warning.

Welcome, spring. Glad to see you're back.

Where have I been?

Simple as 1, 2, 3.

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