By Andrea Scarpino
A neighborhood. A pack. A group of friends. A people who share common beliefs, values. A people with whom you share a “feeling of fellowship.”
When Zac and I first moved to Marquette, we decided that to live in such a small town, we had to throw ourselves into the town’s community. Which we quickly found was easier said than actually accomplished. We immediately signed up for library cards, asked to be added to the library’s listserve. The library doesn’t have a listserve. I immediately went to the university’s English Department, asked to be added to their listserve. They don’t have a listserve. Again and again, we went to places that seemed to be doing interesting work, tried to find out about their upcoming events.
This strategy worked in Los Angeles; at the very first poetry reading I attended one week after we moved to LA, I met Jennifer, who became one of my very closest friends. And two years after we left LA, I’m still unsubscribing from theaters, political groups, libraries, local NPR stations.
In Marquette, we were told that the best way to find out what’s happening in town is to, “walk around and look for posters.” This seemed quaint at first—we’d moved to a place where no one uses the internet!—but grew aggravating as we missed events whose posters we didn’t happen to see, as we struggled to meet people who seemed interested in being our friends. Zac has a small built-in community at the university, but I work from home—not one of my colleagues lives in the UP.
And we have friends all over the world who, as Steve would say, we’ve already made part of our pack, who have already invited us into their pack. For me, at least, this means struggling to grow a community in Marquette while nurturing the communities elsewhere in which I often feel more comfortable.
And truthfully, I haven’t actually been in Marquette very often since we moved here. In the last two years, Zac and I have both had hectic travel schedules, often traveling for weeks at a time, stopping home to wash our laundry and re-pack the same clothes. Which makes it challenging to connect with friends here, to continue developing relationships.
Even so, we’ve begun to feel more connected in Marquette, begun to cobble together a network of friends, of businesses and organizations we regularly visit. I wouldn’t say we’re yet fully integrated into our new community, but we’re trying. We continue to try. Almost two years into our Marquette adventure, I think we’re making good progress.
Planet of the Blind 