You Are There

photograph: Thomas J. O'Halloran

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a nowhere which is basically everywhere? It’s almost harder to find one’s way out of the strips of dealerships and fast food joints that are to be found on the outskirts of any major town. There are no signposts since the essence of branding is to create a location which is identical everywhere. How is it possible to distinguish one Wendy’s or McDonald’s from another when the whole idea is to provide the same thing no matter where you go. The same applies with the Holiday Inn Express, whose rooms and facilities are created following the same master plan and grid with the breakfast nook serving a similar menu of modest items, with a small workout room residing by the pool. The buffet of consumerism is all the more disconcerting since there’s the ultimate suggestion that perhaps one is trapped in a never-ending procession of similar entities. Sometimes one segues right into the other and you experience a version of Ground Hog Day. Your Google maps will confirm you’re occupying a new set of coordinates though it’s unclear how you know you’ve gone anywhere.