How Long Would WHAT Take Me?

The title of this blog is derived from one of those songs that I hold at least partly responsible for my fascination with the U.S. - Jimmy Eat World's "Blister."

"And how long would it take me to walk across the United States all alone?"

There is no way to explain this line, or rather the meaning it has for me, to anyone. You can tell someone to listen to this song, or that band, and they might love it, but it is something entirely different to make someone feel the way you do about a certain song or band. 
Of course, I won't attempt to walk across the United States, and I won't do it all alone! But I think neither did Tom Linton when he wrote the lyrics to that song. To me, this is more about the (quite hard) attempt of imagining the vastness of this country, really trying to comprehend what it is, and how huge this land is, that stretches from Atlantic to Pacific, and that lies between Mexico and Canada. Unfortunately, I don't have the time now to really go into detail on that thought. I will hopefully get a small glimpse into what "space" means in America when I take the bus from NYC to Columbus, OH on Sunday. Travelling by bus is completely different from flying because it gives you at least a bit of an idea of the distance between two places. You "feel" it a bit more than from inside a plane. Of course, walking is even better. But hell, even the bus takes 9 hours to get to Columbus! And it's cold, so I'll postpone any plans of hiking.

PS: Listen to the song, it's great! (So are the Jimmy albums "Static Prevails," "Clarity," "Bleed American," and "Futures.")