Named Places

I love it when I read a book and I realize I am familiar with or know the places that are mentioned in the story. Just reading the names hits me with waves of nostalgia and I find myself thinking back to when I was last there.

The Time Traveler's Wife (Harvest Book) by Audrey Niffenegger is one such book. It being a National Bestseller and all, I wouldn’t have thought there’d be references to familiar names and places. I’ve read many books, bestsellers or otherwise but I have not come across many instances where places mentioned are places I can claim to be familiar with. But surprise, surprise, there is not one, but a few references to places I’m familiar with.

I went to university at Western Michigan at Kalamazoo, so Chicago was but a mere three hours’ drive away. Needless to say, that became our regular hunting ground for a taste of life in the big city. It is with much pleasure than when I’m riffing through and reading The Time Traveler's Wife that I find the present of the story takes place in Chicago, with familiar names like Michigan Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, Dearborn and I am further delighted by the fact that Clare, the traveler’s wife as a child lives in South Haven, on Lake Michigan. I remember I went to South Haven a few times, spending time at the beach with friends. Seeing the name of a place in a foreign country that you know in a book that you’re reading gives a warm feeling in the stomach. I don’t know why, but it does. It’s like, “Hey!! I know that place. I’ve been there! Wow.”

The story gets even better after that. I read that Clare’s sister is studying music with Frank Wainwright in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo! I have not thought of Kalamazoo in a while. Some of my fondest (and darkest) memories were made in Kalamazoo. Wow!! Maybe now is the right time to bring up that Western used to organize (I don’t know if they still do) an annual music fair which brought together classical and jazz artists to the town to perform in during spring. And it was during this time about nine years ago that Rizal and I bumped into Yo Yo Ma at Detroit airport. We were coming back from our trip to San Francisco and San Diego. He was on the way to Kalamazoo to perform at Western for the fair. And the stupidest thing was, Rizal knew who he was but didn’t go up to him to ask for an autograph. I was wondering if he was who he was but I didn’t give the matter much thought (stupid girl!). I mean, we were practically on the same feeder bus standing across from him, less than five feet away and we were boarding the same airplane heading for the same place. It wasn’t till we had gotten off the plane at Kalamazoo did I realize I was in the same plane as Yo Yo Ma. Yo Yo Ma! Stupid, stupid girl!

There are many ways people associate places, people, things and events. And there are many instances where people associate with these places, people or events. Being able to associate with a particular place when mentioned in the novel I’m reading, I’m able to picture the settings more vividly. I’ve been there, I’ve seen what it’s like, I’ve felt what it’s like to be there. It all becomes clearer. The clarity is one thing. Being able to associate with a place fills me with fond reminiscence. This is because I know I probably will not return to Kalamazoo or South Haven or Grand Rapids in my lifetime (though I may make a run for Chicago). Knowing you will not step foot into a place you used to spend a lot of time in but being able to read about those places when they appear in a book stirs up many memories.

Even to places where I’ve been only for holidays or work, the feelings and memories of that time are stirred when I come across familiar names. Haight-Ashbury, Mission District, Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies in San Francisco; the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and certain arrondissements in Paris; Young Street and Chinatown in Toronto; Chinatown, Little Italy, cetain roads and a certain restaurant in Queens (or was it Brooklyn) in New York City; the factory outlets in New Jersey; the many museums in Washington DC and certain street names; oh dear, once I get started it’s difficult to stop. I think I’ll just stop there.

It’s a pleasant surprise to find a familiar place name or two in a book. It’s like meeting an old friend whom you’ve not kept in touch with. Maybe that’s why I read as much as I do. I also forgot that I’m an escapist and am in denial of the current life which I lead and books are my only way out. I always did tell hubby that I should have been born in the time and realm of fantasy, where elves, wizards, mages, dragons and all manners of magical beings exist. And hubby has told me that if I were to exist in such a time, I would not last very long, given my rash pig-headedness. Hmm…he’s got a point. But anyway, it still would be so exciting to live in a world where real magic existed. Given my penchant for weapons, I can also see myself wielding swords, daggers and other manner of dangerous implements. Sigh…a girl can still dream.

Sexy, smouldering vampires…yummmm!!