The Land of Everything

Johnny's mother shared with me at Chelsea Piers that he would like to return to Lancaster someday and build a house here. This left me to ponder the age old question, WHY? Johnny can socialize in Soho, eat caviar in Russia, and storm Paris like he is the next Josephine Baker. He can go anywhere and do anything. Why would he want to come back here? I understand the "there is no place like home" phenomenon, but being from Detroit, I have pretty much gotten past it.

The answer did not take long to come to me. I ride my bike through the Amish farms on the back roads, most often at dusk. I see THIS. (Note: It is difficult to take pictures here, as it is just my neighbors living their lives, so many of the items in the blog are stock photos.)

I also often ride on the back of Slurpico's motorcycle and that is when it came to me. Lancaster is a study in having alot of things going on at once. When we ride, we share the space not only with cars, trucks, and bicycles, but also with the Amish in buggies, on scooters, and on rollerblades. There is a small airport nearby, so low flying planes are also part of the mix. The fields are plowed by draft horses. They often cross the road, stopping traffic-whatever sort it may be.

The economy here is widely varied. It is supported by farming, manufacturing, services, and tourism. People are engaged in doing alot of everything. We have art galleries and theater. Even the Amish homesteads display this cacaphony. They will often house cows, sheep, mini horses, chickens, pigs and horses in the same pasture, all moseying about at once.

The Amish farms have a certain feng shui. They look as if they have been groomed by hand, acres and acres of land- because of course they have been. Their homes are neat as a pin. I will put it this way-the Amish women do windows. I can see why Johnny would like it here. There is no place in the U.S. quite like it.

But I suspect Johnny may love it here for many of the simple reasons I do. The sunsets are beautiful. You can hear the horses clopping at all hours. In the summer the back roads are lined with purple wildflowers, and the scent of honeysuckle wafts into your nose. The grass is lush and green.

Of course the coolest thing about Lancaster is that Johnny Weir is from here. Let us know when you're back Johnny. We'll meet you at the Belvedere.