What’s not to love about Rhode Island? OK, a few shady politicians, high unemployment, low graduation rates — I get it. But Rhode Islanders definitely overdo the “ain’t it awful” schtick.
Architectural Digest has just named Providence the best small city in America for a host of good reasons (thanks for that tip, Suzanne), and if you like “quirky,” Rhode Island has lots of that, too. No one would ever call a big state quirky. For some characteristics, small is better.
Speaking of quirky, this story was passed along by Kate C. It’s about a creative-writing instructor at Brown University who is worried enough about global warming to set up a booth in a public park to commiserate with others about the issue.
Philip Eil writes in the Providence Phoenix, “It is a crisp Tuesday afternoon in May at Burnside Park in downtown Providence. …
“A few minutes after 2:30 pm, Kate Schapira arrives at the south entrance of the park, pulling a bright red metal hand truck. Over the next few minutes, she unpacks and arranges items from the truck: a small wooden desk; a wooden stool; a rainbow-colored beach umbrella with a white plastic stand; a box containing a stack of homemade cardboard “RI IS MY HOME” cards, each with its own labeled sketch of local flora and fauna (“Eastern Chipmunk/Tamias Striatus,” “House Sparrow/Passer Domesticus”); a glass jar labeled “DONATIONS OF 5¢ FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE LEAGUE OF RI”; a pad of poster-sized paper with a hand drawn map of the state of Rhode Island under the words “PUT YOUR WORRIES ON THE MAP”; and two cardboard signs to be affixed to front of the table that read “CLIMATE ANXIETY COUNSELING 5¢” and “THE DOCTOR IS IN.” …
“Today is the first day of Schapira’s Climate Anxiety Counseling. Over the next four weeks, the 35-year-old poet and Brown University creative writing instructor will report to this spot, five days a week, for three hours per shift (two on Saturdays), to talk with passersby about the Earth’s changing climate.” More here.
If you have ever cherished time spent in accommodations overlooking one of Rhode Island’s magnificent beaches, you might like to stop in for a visit with the “doctor” and discuss what might be done to keep the lovely Ocean State from acquiring too much ocean.
Photo: Providence Phoenix
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