I was watching the news a week or so ago and they were showing the story of the Costa Allegra, the cruise ship which suffered a fire and subsequently lost power and spent several days adrift in the pirate infested waters of the Indian Ocean. Ultimately it was towed to port in the Seychelles and when it arrived there were reporters dockside to interview the passengers. One woman summed it up...
"It was horrible, it was miserable, it was frightening. The heat was unbearable, what little food there was was inedible, the people didn't seem to know what they were doing. But worst of all was the stench..."
Honey, you just described the last two years of my life.
Her voyage mercifully ended, and ours is about to begin. Within 24 hours in fact. I couldn't sleep last night, neither could the boyfriend. He drove back last night for the last time and we packed until 3.
With just one day left, I suppose I could be charitable. I wish I had some profound lessons learned to share at this point, but about the best I can come up with "to each, his own". I have to say that the vast majority of the people in Bakersfield wouldn't dream of living anywhere else. Most of them were born and bred here and their families go back for generations. All that inbreeding has resulted in an odd little ecosystem that suits them to a T. It can be rough on outsiders, but that's beside the point... it isn't meant for us.
It reminds me of a nature show I saw awhile ago where they profiled these bizarre creatures that lived on the sea floor. Specifically, they had adapted and evolved over the eons to live comfortably around some boiling hot sulphuric vents. That environment would be toxic to all normal creatures, but they thrived in it.
So who am I to judge? I couldn't stand this place, but most of the people here are happy as clams. Little, toxic, mutant clams.
So to the people of Bakersfield, I wish you all well. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope never to see you again. I'm sure the feeling is mutual.
One. More. Day.
