Views from a Front Porch…Connection to Place

Evening From the Front Porch

Connection to place has always mystified me. I was born in Mississippi, grew up in Texas and moved back to Mississippi thirty years ago. But since moving back to Mississippi I have traveled and worked in other locales almost as much as I have in the state. I always considered Texas home mostly because I met my oldest friends there and some still call the Lone Star State home. In the past decade, Texas ceased to be home for me, but Mississippi has not supplanted Texas. I believe I have a nomad’s spirit; something I came by honestly as both my parents loved to travel.

When they retired to Mississippi, I just didn’t get it. Oh sure, they both still had family and friends here, but I was a Texas girl and could not understand their need to ‘go home’ as they put it. This week I finally figured it out. They had a ‘connection to place’ that I’ve never felt.

Recently, I was sitting between two cousins at the funeral of another cousin. These cousins had grown up juxtaposed in the same geographic area; and although they have moved to other places, sitting there listening to them talk about all the people wandering in paying their respects it dawned on me. What all those people had in common was a ‘connection to place’ that I have never experienced. It is a shared history, shared stories and a common point of view shaped by the place and its culture. They knew everyone and their stories, who they were related to, who was fun, who was a jerk and who got along with whom.

As I drove back through the Mississippi Delta, I reflected on my revelation. For a few minutes I felt sort of sorry for myself because I really don’t feel connected to any place. Then I realized there was no need. I have a connection to the people in my life, the family I was born with, friends and friends who are the family of my choice. And I do have connections with locations, just not one location. I have a place in Mississippi but I connect with other places as well. I connect with friends in Texas, Washington, Atlanta and D.C. for example. But there are also places I’ve visited that pull at me, most specifically, Spain. I cannot explain the connection, but it’s definitely there. I can also get lost in western Ireland. At least Ireland makes more sense because it’s part of my heritage. And who cannot get lost in Paris? Paris was a place I was not really interested in visiting, but when I did, there was a great connection.

That ‘connection to place’ is real, and in some cases almost tangible like it seems to be for my cousins and how it was for my parents. My ‘connection to place’ is more transient and is wherever I happen to be at the time. Almost every destination I’ve had the pleasure of visiting is a place I’d visit again.

Upon reflection, I almost feel sorry for people who only feel connected to one place. Whether you have only lived within a few miles of where you were born or you are a nomad like myself; I wish you all feel a ‘connection to place’.