Landscapes of the Sacred: 1

In chapter eight of Lane's text he describes reasons why Americans cannot define a sense of sacred place. I've lived and visited a lot of places in eighteen years. Some places I only lived for a summer and some I have spent the majority of my life. But because of this frequent movement, I begin to feel anxious and unfulfilled if I spend too much time in one place. I have found Lane's observation about being rooted to a place, "Americans have felt little awareness of being rooted to place or region", extremely true in my own life (Lane 219). Although I love new places, I do not develop a deep attachment to them. I love telling stories of each place and how life looked each year, but I could not tell you about specific people in every place because I would not let myself get attached to people or place knowing that I would be leaving soon anyways. Lane says that "our attachment to any place arises from what we experienced there" (Lane 218). When I lived in Lorado, Texas, my house was six miles from the Mexico border. We frequently heard gun shots going off on the border and scorpions made homes under our beds. One time while in a grocery store, a man came up to my family and wanted to touch mine and my sister's eyes because they believed it was good luck! I do not think I have ever left a grocery store so terrified! We were also know as " the family with red heads" and people would come out of their house just to look ay my sister and I. Subsequently because of these experiences I do not ever want to return to Lorado, Texas nor do the good memories of that place appear first in mind when people ask me to tell them about Texas. I have no attachment to Lorado. On the other hand in Nebraska we were surrounded by good neighbors and I distinctly remember sledding in our backyard with my sister there. We would race and made a snow obstacle course and when we were done playing we would go to our neighbor's house for hot coco and cookies. She always let my sister and I do the whipped cream ourselves!! Because of the memories and experiences of Nebraska, I have a much stronger attachment to that place and the people there. If given the opportunity, I would actually go back and visit. In every place I have lived "the power of memory [has been] more important than the continuing physical reality of the site itself" (Lane 218).