The world as I see it.

I was sitting in our living room today, here in France, listening to one of our favorite radio stations* — broadcasting worldwide from Martha's Vineyard.  A song came on, and I said to myself, "yes, a local boy."

That got me to thinking.  What makes "local"?

We can be living in one place, listening to the radio or watching TV from other areas, and reading newspapers in different places — in fact, several places — sometimes simultaneously. I can be sitting here and chatting with a friend in South Africa or elsewhere.

So, what makes local?  What defines "local"?

With our ability to be connected everywhere, we are not limited to a definition of local that is only our physical surroundings.  Our definition of what is local is defined by our connections — our relationships.  Local becomes a state of mind — where our head is at.

In that way, "local" becomes redefined — expanded and personal.  In my case, my sense of local is simultaneously the local physical environment and my various connections around the globe.  My local is individually me and my connections.

And who was that singer who started this reflection?  It was Neil Young — actually not local to Martha's Vineyard or even Massachusetts, although he has connections there.  And, maybe that fact reinforces my point.

You may not agree with me but,   That is how I see things.

Mark Louis Uhrich

Maisons-Laffitte, France,  28 November 2020

©Copyright Mark Louis Uhrich 

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*WMVY