Not everybody knows this is nowhere
Thank you to Emma Deans for her bravery in facing the hideous absence of anywhere that is Libbytown [“Welcome to Nowhere,” July 2010]. My neighbors and I try to soldier on through our amputated neighborhood, suffering the indignities of the public outdoor pool; the insufferably short walking distance to Shaw’s and Rosemont Market, two major city bus lines, USM, one of the last satellite branches of the Portland Public Library, Hadlock Field, and interstate bus and train service; and yes, those people who sometimes smoke on Congress Street. Deepest of all my shames, I sometimes enjoy the extremely easy car access to the highway when I’m not busy using my feet.
Whatever would those Libbys from 150 years ago say? I do sometimes wonder, while walking the streets of my forlorn and fractured — or was that peaceful and kid-friendly? (I can never tell the difference!) — neighborhood.
—Emily Shaw, Portland
