Indiana Wants Me - Lord I Can't Go Back There
Illinois is well placed for visiting other mid-western states. We have already been up into Winsconsin, and this weekend decided to venture into Indiana. The problem with heading off without proper research is that you never quite know what you're going to get. Picking a place by name only can be quite a risk.
The only things I knew about Indiana I had learnt from old songs. Looking on the map, Gary seemed to be the nearest big town across the border. I had a vague memory that there was a song about it, so how bad could it be? (Turns out to be from The Music Man, so perhaps I should have doubted its relevance).
The weather forecast was not good. But storms here tend to be short lived, so we didn't let it bother us.
As soon as we entered Gary I began to think we had made the wrong choice. A billboard showed a message from the mayor; something to the effect that things can only get better. The houses were tumbledown and railroads criss-crossed all over the town.
"This looks like it might lead to the centre," said Ross, ignoring the GPS system as usual.
"Yes," I agreed. "I bet its just the outskirts that are bad. The middle is probably quite modern. There must be some redeeming features."
There weren't. The main street looked liked it hadn't been altered since the sixties. Actually that's not true - many of the buildings looked liked that had been closed down around 1970.
At that point the heavens opened and torrential rain began which was to last all day. The car needed petrol, but somehow none of the gas stations looked safe enough to stop at. In the end we gave up and drove on.
Once home I did some internet investigation and discovered that Gary is actually a much better place to live than it used to be. For example, it used to be the most dangerous place to live in the entire country. The good news is that now it has dropped to 10th place. It is also a renowned steel town and this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. None of these things, of course, make it a tourist venue.
I'm sure Indiana has some wonderful places to visit. Next time I'll find out where they are before crossing the border.
The only things I knew about Indiana I had learnt from old songs. Looking on the map, Gary seemed to be the nearest big town across the border. I had a vague memory that there was a song about it, so how bad could it be? (Turns out to be from The Music Man, so perhaps I should have doubted its relevance).
The weather forecast was not good. But storms here tend to be short lived, so we didn't let it bother us.
As soon as we entered Gary I began to think we had made the wrong choice. A billboard showed a message from the mayor; something to the effect that things can only get better. The houses were tumbledown and railroads criss-crossed all over the town.
"This looks like it might lead to the centre," said Ross, ignoring the GPS system as usual.
"Yes," I agreed. "I bet its just the outskirts that are bad. The middle is probably quite modern. There must be some redeeming features."
There weren't. The main street looked liked it hadn't been altered since the sixties. Actually that's not true - many of the buildings looked liked that had been closed down around 1970.
At that point the heavens opened and torrential rain began which was to last all day. The car needed petrol, but somehow none of the gas stations looked safe enough to stop at. In the end we gave up and drove on.
Once home I did some internet investigation and discovered that Gary is actually a much better place to live than it used to be. For example, it used to be the most dangerous place to live in the entire country. The good news is that now it has dropped to 10th place. It is also a renowned steel town and this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. None of these things, of course, make it a tourist venue.
I'm sure Indiana has some wonderful places to visit. Next time I'll find out where they are before crossing the border.
posted by Hilary at
10:25 PM
2 Comments:
Got bored (shock horror!)so did a wikapedia search on Gary, Indiana.
Turns out that both Morgan Freeman and the Jackson 5 (plus the rest of the clan!) are both from there.
At least there is something interesting about Gary!
By
Anonymous, at 8:50 AM
Perhaps, when next you're visiting the greater Philadelphia area, you may want to spend a few days in lovely (sarcastic) downtown Camden, NJ? Camden was the most dangerous city in the country for many years. Sadly, it lost first place this past year. Remember that the U.S. is a true dichotomy. Collingswood, as lovely as I find it to be, is a mere one mile from the border of Camden!
Perhaps (doubt it) there was some place close to Gary with a redeeming quality?
By
Unknown, at 6:21 AM
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