observation number 59

[threeplusfire]

I will be glad not to spend any more time in NC ever. What could be a great place is marred by some of the most poorly laid out highways, lack of reflectors OR reflective lane paint. Seriously it is a tiny state and surely they could manage their road dollars better.

Asheville is in theory a college town but any place where the bookstores close by 7pm is absurd. Lame.

Leonard Cohen was great. He likes to dance. What a totally gorgeous voice. At one point he sang Hallelujah followed by I'm Your Man, which ranks high in some of the best concert moments I've experienced. No other version of that song will ever compare.

We had great seats. Though I remain puzzled as to why that one middle aged woman wore a pink polyester ice skating outfit to the show. Being old does not mean you have to go out in velour sweatpants. Look at Leonard Cohen who cuts a sharp figure in that suit.

Comments

[avidbeader.livejournal.com]

*steps up to defend home state* :-P

Actually, there are many states much smaller than us. We rank 28th in size and it's over 1200 miles across from Murphy (westernmost point) to Manteo (easternmost).

Yes, there are some terrible roads around the state, and given that you were in the mountains, you saw some of the worst. But the transportation dollars go to the high-traffic areas first like around Raleigh and Charlotte.

Asheville is indeed a college town in that it has a college, but it's also a little mountain burg that depends on seasonal traffic and the biggest season is over for now.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

The mountains are pretty. Seasons!

I was just really surprised by the lack of reflectors, as I kind of thought that was a road standard for highways. We couldn't see anything in the dark and it was seriously unnerving.

It may be 28th in size, but I'm used to states that take all day to drive across. ;)

[ekatarina.livejournal.com]

I cheer for him whenever I see him. It's a shame about his financial troubles.

Next time the petition comes along to put him forward to the Nobel commitee I need to sign *and* send a letter. His literary contribution to the world is stunning.

Ekatarina

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

You have to be a mean, mean person to steal from someone like Leonard Cohen.

[silentjack.livejournal.com]

I say this in the best of humors and firmly tongue in cheek.

But I'm sure, from experience, that Texas is just overflowing with a fabulous infrastructure, where the streets never flood, where roads are laid out in proper grids everywhere, where city planning is the foremost concern of civil servants; I'm sure that the state is bursting with literati, bursting at the seams with young folks clamoring to get the most recent Pynchon, jam-packed with erudite citizens who clamor for 24-hour bookstores and cafes, and just pumped full of politicians who make wise decisions and operate at their best while discussing Wittgenstein over backgammon.

And to correct the poster above, from the eastern tip of the state to the extreme western border is closer to 550 miles as the crow flies. We are also the eighth most populous state in the Union.

[brienze.livejournal.com]

Yes, all those things are totally true of Texas. =P Just don't stop to use a rest area... they're unpatrolled, dirty, and open to the air. (Seriously... there's a 6 inch gap at the bottom of the "walls". Presumably to facilitate drainage in case Hercules should choose to show up with a navigable river.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

You don't sound bitter or mean at all there Tom.

Really, I wouldn't mind NC so much if it hadn't fucked Sarah over so hard.

[litos.livejournal.com]

North Carolina is not tiny. It is no Texas, but it is not tiny....

Maryland is Tiny. Delaware is Tiny... You can fit a dozen Delaware's in NC.

:-)

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Any state you can drive across before lunch is tiny.