Month: October 2021

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 57

Arbitrary geographical boundaries fascinate me. I’m not talking boundaries established on a river or mountain or even a tree that may not even exist anymore. I’m referring to boundaries where you start at a line and a certain amount of miles later draw another without the least bit of concern about what lies in between. It’s not so much the drawing of the boundary that I find so intriguing, but the decisions that are made and/or the circumstances that evolve because of that line.

When I was growing up, there was a bar on the side of the road in the middle of a swamp five miles from the nearest town and within walking distance of maybe ten people – it was the text book definition of the middle of nowhere. Why? It sat just past the county line. The nearby town was dry and the bar – called The Swamps – was the closest place to legally drink.

I once rode my bike over twenty miles to The Swamps and back. Why? To paraphrase Sir Edmund Hillary (who himself borrowed the phrase from George Mallory), “Because it was there.”

Four Corners? Yup, I’ve been there. Put an appendage in each state at the same time? Absolutely!

Wagah, Pakistan is on my bucket list. Why? This. If you’re going to have an arbitrary line, you might as well make a big deal out of it. Please remember as you watch it that these are two of the largest countries in the world, both of whom have nuclear weapons to defend themselves against the other. You’ll notice a shaking of hands during the ceremony, that nicety came only after years of posturing and gesticulating in an aggressive manner that wasn’t just for show. Yes, Partition and all that has come after it have been terrible, but it makes this boundary no less fascinating. According to Wikipedia, we’ll never know why this boundary was drawn where it was because the papers were intentionally destroyed.

The 38th Parallel? North and South Korea? You bet I’m fascinated with that whole part of the world. Unlike Partition where you draw a line where Muslims go here and Hindus go there, two ‘allies’ pick this arbitrary line to divide control of a country and basically end up splitting one people and one culture into two. Yes, I’d visit the DMZ given half a chance just to try and appreciate the true scope of the difference made by this decision.

My subdivision is in one law enforcement jurisdiction. If I leave my subdivision, take a left, and drive my car into a ditch on the right side of the road, I’m in another jurisdiction. If I get myself out of the ditch, continue driving straight and stop at the police station a quarter mile away on the left side of the road, they will tell me they can’t help me because they cover yet another jurisdiction. Want to see grown men with guns have a squabble? Get into an accident where two or more jurisdictions come together and ask them to write a report.

Firefighters possess almost the opposite mentality as their public safety brethren. Until recently, the full-time firefighters at one department could sit and watch a parade of five fire trucks passing in front of their stations with lights and sirens for a fire before being asked if they’d like to come along and help. That fire department protected that side of the line and just could not be trusted to fight fires on this side of it. This changed recently when the firehouse was shut down and moved… even closer to where to the area on the wrong side of the line… where they’re still not invited to the party, but at least don’t have to watch the parade.

My bucket list of geographic oddities grows as I get older. National Geographic raised my curiosity regarding Point Roberts, Washington many years ago. On the opposite end of the line that creates this oddity is another one I’d love to visit – the Northwest Angle of Minnesota. While I would enjoy a drive through the Saatse Boot – the only place you can enter Russia without a visa – I’m definitely NOT interested in stopping. It’s sad to say, but Whiteclay, Nebraska is another place I’m fascinated with despite the very sad social dynamic it used to represent. Bir Tawil would be a hard ask, but you just have to wonder what makes a place so that no country wants to claim it.