In a recent column, Edgar Allen Beem opined “… the idea that people identify so heavily with the little patch of earth where they were born and where they live is a very peculiar phenomenon.”

Peculiar as this near-universal emotion may be, legions of ordinary folk, past and present, have felt a magnetic attraction to homeland and hearth. Perhaps Mr. Beem’s peculiar perception is attributable to his Utopian yearnings for a more desirable place where “… we would probably all be a lot better off without towns, cities, states and countries.” If so, there may be one or two habitable places in the Siberian steppes or Antarctica to accommodate his borderless preferences.

But if he’s searching for Utopia, he won’t be the first to be disappointed in his quest. As Erma Bomback once put it, “The grass is always greener over the septic tank.”

Walter J. Eno
Scarborough