Finding Home in Unlikely Places

First of all, I'd like to apologize for keeping you--the blogosphere--anxiously waiting for this next installment of The Real Ideal: Nice Things to Say About Nice Things. I know this has caused some deep distress, and I take full responsibility.

Whew. Now that I've got that off of my chest, let's get to the niceties.

I, Nathan, one of two co-writers of this fine publication, have been away from home for a while now--going on 10 months. I've been living in an unfamiliar country with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar customs. My time here has mostly been wonderful. I've met some great people and I've seen some great things. But, though I've grown to love this place, it's still not home. I've sure all of you have felt like this at some point.

Sometimes, however, we are blessed with the most familiar things in the most unlikely places; we are given the most unexpected reminders of home. And I'm not talking about being able to walk down the street to pick up a Whopper Jr. from the King himself. That's really not that nice. I'm talking about receiving an apple pie as a gift from a student, or making great jokes with a hilarious lady from Texas. That's the good stuff.

I had one of these unexpected pieces of home encounters a couple of weeks ago: probably the best one so far. A couple I've made friends with wanted to take me to a folk/bluegrass concert at the national university. I went, and I was so pleased. It was a legitimate four-piece string band from the Appalachians/Brooklyn, and they were great! They played a lot of my favorite songs, and it was a wonderful reminder of some of my favorite times spent at home--a heaping portion of American Pie.

The Hoppin' John Stringband

The Hoppin' John Stringband not only played great music, but they were great to talk to as well. They were so glad to have brought something so familiar to a boy from Arkansas and a girl from North Carolina (and Elvis, her Salvadorean husband). Check out the Hoppin' John Stringband, along with some of the members' other projects, here: hyperlink to their MySpace. I especially like the song "The Blackest Crow."

Here's to finding home in unlikely places; it is truly a nice thing.