Letters to the Editor
Buckeye Tim
Published Letters: 2 Editor's Choice: 1
-
Go West
[Read the article: Should I stay East or go West?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I had a strong reaction to your statement “But when I think of the East, I get a knot in my stomach.” I feel precisely the same way when I go East. I was born and raised in New York City, yet I never felt I belonged there. I spent too much time wondering if I was hopelessly unfashionable (or was I just less pretentious?). I wondered if I was too lazy in the hypercompetitive office environment, or if I was just more grounded in realizing that life was what you did after work. And what was the deal with all these art gallery openings that everyone but me seemed to be going to all the time? These questions haunted me. So did my cramped hovel of an apartment, the outrageous cost of living, and the way I always felt most painfully alone in the thick New York crowds. I hated all of that, but at age 30 it was all I knew.
A project came up at work that required spending much time in Ohio. It was not a prestige project (those were in London and Tokyo) and no one wanted it. I jumped at it. I would have done anything to get away from all the obnoxious Ivy League MBAs who surrounded me day-in and day-out (for the record, yes, I was one of them).
I can hardly explain it, but I had a bizarre realization on just my second day in Ohio: I feel at home here. I had no family, no friends, and truly knew nothing about the city, but it still felt right. Perfect, in fact.
I never left. When the project ended I took a job with the client I had been assisting. Friends, family, and co-workers in New York were shocked: What the hell was I doing? How could I be happy in a backwards red state? Wouldn’t I be bored? What about the career I was trashing? On some level all those questions were valid. Even Ohioans I got to know thought I was nuts: “You want to move from New York City… to here?” But the question I asked myself was this: Would I rather be happy in a place where by all rights I should be miserable; or miserable in a city that is widely believed the most desirable on earth? I took a risk, followed my heart, and have spent seven wonderful years here in Ohio. I will never leave.
Your heart is West. Go West.
-
In McClelland's Defense
[Read the article: How Oprah ruined the marathon]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Imagine honing a craft—say, sculpting—over the course of many years. You study history and technique. You work endless hours toiling in anonymity. You produce much junk and suffer terrible frustration before producing work of which you are genuinely proud.
Imagine then that a movement comes along claiming that anyone can be sculptor. Not only that, the movement claims that sculpture requires no particular knowledge or talent, and any object produced by anyone deserves as much praise as that produced by the so-called professionals. Finally, the movement claims that those who have dedicated their lives to sculpture miss the point entirely, are kind of kooky, and are elitist snobs to boot. And, much to your amazement, this line of thinking wins the day.
Well, if you were that sculptor, you might be a little pissed.
And this is what has happened to marathons. It’s been taken over by masses of people who have no intention of learning anything about running, no interest in furthering running as competitive sport, nor even a modest objective of improving their own abilities. Worse, more dedicated runners are mocked for wasting their time while doggedly pursuing a lifelong passion.
A marathon used to be a reward for years of hard work, steady improvement, and unwavering commitment to running. No longer. Now it’s just something people sign up for with much fanfare and no preparation. And as someone who cares about the sport of running, that makes me sad.