Dear Neil,
I've been traveling a lot lately. In my experience, New Jersey has no true backcountry. You are always keenly aware of the presence of a major metropolitan area, just beyond the horizon, no matter where in New Jersey you go. This makes it very different from South Carolina, where it seems as though you could wander into the forest never to be seen again. New Jersey is close to being somewhere; South Carolina is close to being nowhere. The town where I live is called Rock Hill, because way back when there was a pile of rocks next to some train tracks. This pile of rocks was demolished and a bank built on top of it long ago. The ethos that nothing is more important than progress lives on though. Our town fears the emptiness around it. We are afraid we will be eaten by it, if we don't keep expanding the wall of defense around us, made of strip malls and McDonalds' and Revcos. On the city limits signs there is a little appended sign that says, "A city with no room for racism." As though our town were so full, the racists have to be turned away and made to live in the county. While New Jersey, without saying a word, lets everyone know Rock Hill feels it must scream to be heard, "We are significant! We are modern! We aren't hicks or racists! Love us!" In psychology, this is known as overcompensation. No one is fooled. I guess things are different on the moon. You can't get much more space age than that.