A quick look at Yellow Springs.
February 24th, 2016
I'm sure I've mentioned this a few times over the last month or so, even if I managed to neglect doing so last year, but we've moved! No longer do Brenda, Crawford, and I hold fast in the suburban sprawl that is Miamisburg, Ohio. No, we've moved to Yellow Springs, which is something of a Bizarro World compared to where we were. But I mean this in the best possible way, because all of the things that used to annoy us are no more!
The strange thing is that I didn't even notice at the time, while living in Miamisburg, how awful the town itself had become. Having gotten away from the crushing traffic and the increasing drug-related activities in and around our former apartment complex, I find that every time we go back to Miamisburg for something or other, I don't miss it. In fact, I usually find myself relieved when we make it back home in one piece.
Sure, we no longer have immediate access to an overwhelming array of shopping and dining options, but then again, we don't have to worry about drug dealers dealing just outside our door any longer. Or people breaking into my car. Or neighbors stealing copper and 'cleverly' hiding it out in the parking lot. Or idiots setting the complex on fire with their cigarettes. Or hearing ghetto birds flying overhead every couple of hours.
Yeah, I'd say the higher rent is worth it.
For those of you not in the know, Yellow Springs is something of an enigma. It exists in a state ostensibly overrun with teabagger scum, but is a bright blue light swimming in the sea of all that red ignorance. It's an immense liberal mecca, with a whole lot of culture and activities that bely its rather small size. Sure, we haven't taken advantage of that much yet, but this nonetheless makes Yellow Springs a nice fit for the three of us.
I can't really speak for Brenda, but I've hardly interacted with the locals yet. But then, I have been working insane hours in order to make up for the fact that I don't quite make a living wage yet. But you know, I stay there because of the Cadillac ™ insurance they offer, which is so cheap because my employer owns a controlling stake in the insurance company. That's pretty handy, I guess.
The intent is to make proper use of the town this year, however. As you can see from the photos above, this is what the view just outside our house looks like. Those first two images are literally from our front yard, looking first left, then right. You can kind of see that same tree in both photos if you look closely. Finally, that third one is just around the corner, on our way from where our house sits on the edge of town.
You know, back towards 'civilization'.
But the goal is to actually do more than just hang out in the various shops and edifices. No, one of the great things about Yellow Springs is that it has a nice bike trail moving right through town, which stretches from where we're at all the way down to Cincinnati. Sure, I have no intention of riding down that far, since I don't want to get mugged and skinned alive, but using that will help me reach my goal of losing 2/5 of myself.
Sure, I'd settle for dropping just 1/3 of myself, when all is said and done, but I figure I should at least aim big, right? That way, if I fall a bit short, I didn't really fail when all is said and done. That first photo there, showcasing some of Yellow Springs' magnificent color pallete, was taken right off the bike trail. The wondrous sights helps when riding - or even walking - its length, because it keeps your mind engaged.
Well, it works on mine, at least. But there's other things to check out in town, as well. That middle photo was taken just outside one of the local farms that sells its produce to people on certain days of the week (and I didn't almost fall off the road taking it, either), while that last one was of a massive sunflower field that was just screaming to have its photo taken, so we could share its bright colors with all y'all.
So, you know, I did.