This is my final post from our trip to America. Most of the visit was based around family, so this is a bit ‘freeform.’

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Diego Rivera room, Detroit Institute of Art

The Detroit Institute of Art is an interesting place: I enjoyed the visit, and we didn’t have time to see it all, but there were some odd curatorial decisions. The section on the Americas at least had maps. By contrast, ‘Africa’ was presented as an essentially homogenous entity, as, to a lesser extent, was Asia. I got that the link between the exhibits was thematic rather than geographic, but I thought the presentation of diverse cultures was missing context. I also noticed that the majority of the art, where the artist was identified, was by men.

Similarly, the Gerald Ford Museum in Grand Rapids had a good collection of material about Ford’s life and presidency, albeit somewhat sanitised, but accompanied by a strange exhibition of Michelangelo’s art from the Sistine Chapel, with no good reason for it being there.

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Our time in America coincided with both the death of the Queen and 9/11. I’ve written in earlier posts about the Queen, but the reaction in the US was interesting. At first, my only exposure was on NPR in Amy’s car, where the news was reported fairly alongside other major stories, notably the heat in California. As I always do in the US, I avoided TV, but did notice several people watching the network coverage over breakfast in the hotel with rapt attention.

911 Commemoration, W Illinois St.

Our second hotel in Chicago was next to a fire station, from which tenders and trucks would issue at all hours of the day and night, sirens wailing like werewolves. Early in the morning of 9.11 I watched as a solemn commemoration was enacted in the rain. Part way through, I dropped down to the hotel breakfast room for a coffee and noticed that no one was paying any attention at all to the memorial taking place outside the large window.

Our final day was spent with friends, Bruce and Arlene, who took the time to drive us around parts of the city, talking about the history and the architecture and taking us to a favourite bar for lunch before dropping us off at the airport.

There isn’t much to say about the journey back except to say that I finally found a benefit of Brexit – I got a reasonable duty-free price on a bottle of Irish whiskey at Dublin airport. We landed at Edinburgh about an hour before the cortege carrying the Queen’s funeral arrived at the back gates – the RAF transport was waiting as we taxied to our stand.

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Even if we hadn’t been visiting family, I would have enjoyed this visit, notwithstanding the £:$ exchange rate. I really liked the places we went and the people we were with. We were almost entirely in ‘blue’ areas and I made a point of not initiating any discussion of politics, but, that said, it was a relaxed time without drama. When I did get chatting, it was always civil and pleasant and polite with an undertow of good humour.

The centre of Chicago is great – if expensive – even though it smells everywhere of strong weed thanks to the legalisation of cannabis. Indeed, one of the jarring things over the near-40 years since I first visited the US has been the rapid expansion of availability of good beer followed by the ready availability and ubiquitous advertising of weed. Personally, I prefer the beer – and the excellent red wine served by family in Grand Rapids.

There are other elements that are noticeable, of course, just as they are here in the UK. A meme was doing the rounds on social media that was a photo of a commemorative notice about the Queen juxtaposed with someone homeless on the street. The point is valid, but it was mainly posted (that I saw) by Americans. I mention it because I saw it in Chicago even as I passed many unfortunates, some clearly physically and/or mentally unwell, asking for dollars, dimes or quarters in the penumbra of the Trump building at the riverside – and yes, I gave what I could if I had cash in my pocket.

Anyway, I came back from America with good memories of good times with family. I also found a hot sauce that I like (Picamas Salsa Brava) and, unusually for me, a card game that I enjoy playing (Five Crowns). I like the look of Pickleball, though I didn’t play, and enjoyed my faltering attempts at Disc Golf. And I look forward to going back over – when the bank balance recovers.

For those interested in such things, a public photo album is on Facebook.

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Holiday reading (cont)

Star Wars: Survivor’s Quest Timothy Zahn. Disappointing: a decent story let down by poor dialogue and slack writing. A noticeably high headcount at the hands of the Jedi too.

Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card. A quick read and four-square in the American SF tradition, in some respects swimming in the same pond as Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, though more reflective than Heinlein. Cleanly written, and more subtle than the subsequent film, but I have no idea why it won either of the Nebula or Hugo awards, let alone both of them.

Hit Man and Hit List Lawrence Block. I really enjoyed these: Laconic, sharp, wholly amoral and often very funny despite the monstrous protagonist.