Rockford Anthology

I.

As a transplant, having lived near Rockford for a mere three years, the city has put a spell on me, casting four different visions of what could be. The first, often a lonely place to be initially, is of the visitor, stopping in to give a greeting, though ultimately not being able to dig too deep, seeing the city as a magical, idyll, somewhere, beckoning me to stay longer.

Anyone who has gone to a new place, has felt the energy of embracing  a new experience— something fresh and exciting. In high school I attended  camp on the southside of Rockford, seeing the city through the eyes of friends. Their well-worn paths took me places I’d never been. Visitors notice the beautiful lives of others or only see what they came for—a choice that prohibits experiencing a complicated, authentic city. 

Clearly, one cannot stay a visitor for too long, as the welcome becomes overstayed, the residents playing host needing a breather—sending their guests back, having to go back to life as it was, seeing the beauty of each new day and facing the painfulness of structures, injustices, and history. Rockford historically has seen clear abuses of power, death, and generations of being left to survive. As a visitor, I only saw those from a distance—not truly knowing what it meant, until the area became my home. I’ve been asked numerous times, “Why Rockford?”. 

To that question, an abundantly clear answer emerges—Rockfordians are real, beautiful, soulful beings living in a loved city. When the layers are peeled, digging deeper, I have seen a helpful, open-hearted, truthfulness that a visitor only experiences after the residential transformation happens. 

II.

Aboriginal cultures, through generations, have a tradition termed ‘songlines’–-a walking route that crosses geographical locations linking important cultural ideas, spirituality, foods, events, and other necessary moments accompanied by songs detailing what travelers would need to know. Rockford is no different with evidence of its own songs and routes—take a walk downtown, visit the gardens, sit and listen to the sounds outside a local restaurant—listen to the stories passed down by generations and feel the pain, tension and joy bursting out. 

As with the native cultures, Rockford’s songlines are often whitewashed—progress and prosperity celebrated, often the visitors being lifted up instead of the people who made this city special. These songlines are being rewritten or erased—stapled, independent businesses moving out as corporate chains move in looking to capitalize on the long, hard-earned work of true residents.

The songlines of Rockford beg the visitor to let their eyes be opened to the wonderful traditions and truly understand what it means to be a resident of this city, whether transplant or generations of family. James Baldwin sums up a visitor's heart-breakingly perspective, “the principles were Blindness, Loneliness, and Terror, the first principle necessarily and actively cultivated in order to deny the two others. I would love to believe that the principles were Faith, Hope, and Charity, but this is clearly not so…” 

Open eyes reveal the good and bad, understanding and knowledge, real-life versus a facade. As the visitor, now rooted, I see things differently than years ago when my experience was often, yet short lived. However, each time my eyes were opened, sometimes to the bad, but mostly to the good of an open and welcoming hug from the city that I now call home. 

III.

While some songlines are being rewritten, I turn towards Faith and Hope to fill my heart and mind. I wrestle with owning a business where the client’s wishes only scratch the surface and an overlooking of deeper issues. Design, specifically storytelling, can reveal many things about a city and its intentions and future plans. These conversations often rely on a Blindness, letting many deny the truth—we want a community to call our own. 

In my short three years, many of those communities have shown themselves to be the true heart of Rockford—Smiley’s, Lanor, Maze Books, Velvet Robot, and many more independent people expressing their love for their interests, deeply rooting themselves into the fabric of the city. These are the voices of people who call Rockford home—in all its glory and downside. A story lacking in conflict is no story—Rockford brings its own conflict day in and day out, yet the true lives persevere to emerge beautifully changed. Listen to their stories. 

Mary Oliver in writing about Leave of Grass, notes that the writing “assumes an intimate audience of one–one who listens closely to the solitary speaker [...] It is mentoring, it is concerned; it is intimate.” This is Rockford. My visiting days have been traded in for listening to what the city says to me—what does the city require of someone choosing, or forced, to call it home? It is a beautiful song; it is an intimate relationship between the past, understanding who came before-–the present, the voices calling for attention and concern—the future, forgoing invasive species [Starbucks] in favor of what’s local: Inzombia, Velvet Robot, Rockford Roasting, and Wired. 

IV.

What cannot be told, only intimately experienced, is the deep love rooted in the Forest City, with the giants who came before me, welcoming a visitor seeking community. Of all the cities in the states, Rockford is not unique even in its uniqueness—there is joy, pain, beauty, and injustice—yet, if I open my eyes I see this city’s people, equally looking at others for acceptance and love. I see home. 

Mary Oliver, again, wrote:

When I am among the trees, 
especially the willows and the honey 
locust, equally the beech, the oaks 
and the pines, they give of such 
hints of gladness. 
I would almost say that they save me, and daily. 

I am so distant from the hope of 
myself, in which I have goodness, 
and discernment, and never 
hurry through the world 
     but walk slowly, and bow often. 

Around me the trees stir in their 
leaves and call out, “Stay 
awhile.” 
The light flows from their branches. 

And they call again, “It’s simple,” 
they say, “and you too have come 
into the world to do this, to go easy, to 
be filled with light, and to shine.”