Category Travel

We come from Springfield and we sell swampland!

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It’s no surprise that I’m a huge fan of The Simpsons (Worst. Kept. Secret. Ever.) and have been so since I was a kid. Any cromulent fan knows that historically the show has been very cagey about Springfield’s location, because it’s a very common town name, and thus everyone could choose to believe that The Simpsons’s Springfield was also their Springfield.  When I was a kid growing up in the midwest, I was certain that the ‘real’ Springfield was Springfield, Illinois.  Even though sometimes they went to the ocean. Or climbed mountains. 

In 2010, Matt Groening let it slip that the ‘real’ Springfield was Springfield, Oregon, which I suppose shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that Matt is from nearby Portland, and many townspeople’s names come from Portland’s street names. Springfield, Oregon has embraced their cartoon likeness, and in 2014, they dedicated a wall to a giant Simpsons mural to take their relationship to the next level. A groin-grabbingly good mural.

oregon-day-one-6-of-14New York’s thataway, man!

oregon-day-one-7-of-14It’s the Springfield tire yard! The fire is forthcoming, presumably.

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There’s also a small free Springfield museum that supposedly has a Simpsons couch for photos, but thanks to my blundering numbskullery while planning, they were closed on the day I rolled through. DOH! Next time, Springfield.

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Spotted on the Roadside: A Passel o’ Possums

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Are possums the critter most suited to tending your autobody needs? These guys would definitely have you believe that’s the case. Or are they out for revenge, judging from the tire imprints that go around the midsection of one of their young? Looking for an excuse to get up under your hood and start bleeding your brakes? Either way,  don’t go playing dead when you see the bill–they’ll see right through it.

Spotted on SW 9th Ave in Albany, OR

Salmagundi West

Comments Off on Salmagundi West read Canada, Travel

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van-city-3-of-41Super awesome art by Michael deMeng

van-city-9-of-41In case you want to start your own House on the Rock-esque creepy clown collection.

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van-city-11-of-41This hat looks awfully familiar.

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I had a friend tell me that coming to my house is like coming to a museum, that every time she sees something new and unusual. As someone whose aesthetic is undeniably “creepy museum”, I was thrilled to hear that. While I respect those who live simple, minimalist lifestyles, I can’t do it myself. I tried minimalism for about three days and then awoke at 4am on day three to find myself feverishly sleep-browsing craigslist for gothic antiques. I’m not advocating living under a mouldering pile of newspapers, clutching onto every one-use kitchen gadget or instruction manual for shit you don’t even have anymore, or mindlessly consuming trendy stuff you’ll almost immediately discard. And sure, the best things in life aren’t things. However, things are forever. The objects we choose to surround ourselves with can tell a story, set a mood, remind us of happy times, tell us where we’ve been and where we want to go.  I always have an eye out for anything that belongs in my creepy museum, and that’s why no trip to Vancouver is complete without a stop at Salmagundi West, home to oddities, antiques, antique oddities, and odd antiques, plus a smattering of outsider art and occult ephemera. In other words, it’s like stepping into my alternate dimension living room. It’s fun digging through all the drawers of the card catalogs in their “magical basement” for treasures, and it’s even more fun to try to explain what exactly I bought to the border agent without sounding like someone whose trunk they should probably check for body parts or something. And sure, I can’t take it all with me when I go–but my ghost can preside over one hell of an exciting estate sale.

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