How about a Bit More J. Press Goodness?

A few more photographs, taken by my sister during last week's visit to the Washington, D.C. branch of J. Press not far from Dupont Circle.  

While I really like and enjoy our Michigan home (and how lucky we are to be within easy reach of major cross-country skiing areas in the winter), there is just no arguing that most national capitals have a level of sophistication -- in dress, behavior, interaction, institutional, and cultural outlets -- missing from daily life out in the provinces.  

That's not a moral judgment you understand, but rather a feature that leaps out at you when meeting and observing people on the street, in restaurants, or frankly any other establishment.  My brief visit provided a much needed breath of fresh air.  

How nice it is to dine out in a few places where most men sport either suits, blazers, or sports jackets with neckties and decent looking dress shoes.  The women were dressed correspondingly, the few children present were well-behaved, and people conversed in hushed tones as they enjoyed their evening meals.  Ah, yes.  For a few days at least, I felt like I was back on my home planet.

For many years, almost half of my life at this point, I have called the Upper Midwest home.  There are many great things about the region, and at this point I cannot imagine living too many other places in the world.  Berlin, Hamburg, and Bergen, Norway, for example, are three cities where I could happily relocate and stay forever, if we ignore potential developments in Europe for a moment.

With the notable exception of the Chicago area, however, there is simply no getting away from the fact that the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the U.S. are very different from places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and now Michigan when it comes to daily life, outlook, and worldview. 

-- Heinz-Ulrich