Annapolis

It’s largely unchanged, aside from being obviously even pricier than before. Perhaps the number of yachts has increased by 30% or so. (And to repeat, all that stuff in Chapter 2 of Circus Philosophicus about my hanging out with those Annapolis yachters and playing croquet all the time was meant as patently absurd parody.)

Here as with Chicago, it’s surprising how many bars and restaurants still exist and still stand in the same locations, given the famous volatility of the dining industry.

Endless beautiful brick streets, many of them dead-ending suddenly on water scenes when you least expect it. That’s the side of Annapolis one can only enjoy.

As usual, my visual memory of individual scenes turned out to be pretty good, but the connectivity between those scenes was distorted by the years. Sometimes things are a bit closer or further apart than remembered; some side-streets were forgotten for two decades but then delightedly rediscovered today.

And of course, even the most trivial memories start flooding back everywhere in a city from one’s past. Often, simply approaching a building I remembered from 1990 would immediately trigger a vivid recollection of a not-so-important thought I had while standing in that exact place over 20 years ago. I’m not sure if it works that way for everyone, but my memories are strongly linked to specific spatial zones. Often I can remember something much better if I can recall where I was standing and at what time of day when first told about it.

I’m not convinced that the new library is an improvement. It somehow feels much smaller. And I liked the old one perfectly well.

Tomorrow I’ll start running into moderate numbers of people I know, and that will change the experience quite a bit.