While Population: 485 centers on several different themes throughout the book, I chose to focus my interpretation on the sense of belonging the author, Michael Perry, seems to crave all through the literature, and more specifically, during chapters one and seven. In chapter one, titled Jabowski’s Corner, he opens the door to his journey by bringing us to the small town of New Auburn, Wisconsin. This is the place he belongs. He introduces many of the people of New Auburn in every chapter, but I chose chapter seven because he describes the diverse groups of individuals that make up the town and refers to them as “My People,” which is also the title of the chapter. These are the people that make up the town, the people he belongs with. I feel his love for the land, in this small Wisconsin town, is deeply expressed in both chapter one and in chapter seven. Another association the two chapters have is the idea that to truly feel that comfort and pleasure of belonging in the place where you live, love for the land may not be enough. Michael finds a way to connect to the community and then to connect the community with the land.
Michael Perry, the author and main character, has returned to the place he calls home after being away for twelve years. He left New Auburn after graduating high school. While away, he earned a bachelor’s degree from nursing school and worked a couple of jobs as a nurse. He was frustrated by the fact that he didn’t know how to extricate someone safely from a smashed car or splint a dislocated elbow. This was not his place and he wanted more. He enrolled in an emergency medical technician class and passed the National Registry exam. He then began his career as an EMT and worked part-time for a private ambulance service for five years in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. While he gained a lot of experience, it just wasn’t where he felt he belonged.
He lived in New Auburn as a child and teenager. It has been nineteen years since he graduated high school and moved away, but now, he has returned as an adult. After experiencing life on his own and having matured, he now views the town and its people from a different, more grown up perspective and is looking for a way to re-connect with the community of New Auburn. “Twelve years I’ve lived away from here, and what I missed- what I craved- was the lay of the land. A familiar corner, a particular hill, certain patches of trees. I returned, and the land felt right. The land takes you back. All you have to do is show up. Finding your place among the people, now, that is a different proposition.” (p.111). He wants to gain back that comforting sense of belonging he once felt from the town he grew to know and love. “In a place from the past, I am looking for a place in the present. This, as they say, is where my roots are. The trick is in reattaching.” (p. 3).
Michael decides to join the New Auburn fire department as a volunteer fire fighter. He describes several incidents, in great detail, that he has encountered since starting there seven years ago. I find it interesting that he worked for over five years as an EMT in Eau Claire, and just vaguely shares one story about a call he responded to the first day on the job. He does not give many specifics about the accident, the people involved, or the location it happened. I guess because he is not connected with these people or this town, nor does he give the impression he desired to. When he tells a story of New Auburn, or any one of its people though, it is obvious that there is a lot more emotion and meaning to it and he really paints a clear picture for the reader.
In chapter one, Michael describes the incident he faced seven years ago, just after he joined the New Auburn fire department. Tracy Rimes, a young high school student, had been horribly injured in a car wreck. His mother, also an EMT, is there, along with several other volunteer fire fighters. His sister is there too. She is only a year younger than Tracy and attends school with her. Tracy’s father is there, who was once the chief of the department. The location of the accident is Jabowski’s corner, which is named after the family who owns the farm at that bend of the road. He goes into precise details of the scene, pulling you into the story and leaves the imprint of just how close this community is. “… she is delicate, and frightened, and conscious, and most of all, she is one of us.”(p. 12). Everyone is somehow, someway connected with one another in this small town. When tragedy strikes, these people can set aside their differences, team up and come together as a community, for their community. Michael is doing the same line of work as he did while he was gone, only now he does it with meaning and with passion. The constant is doing what he loves, the difference is doing it for “his people” and in the place he belongs.
The way Michael describes the town in chapter one is so vivid and pure, it makes me wish I had a place to go as beautiful and meaningful to me, as New Auburn is to him. This is where he belongs. Part of belonging to a small town though, means relating to the people living in it. Belonging; acceptance as a natural member or part. A sense of belonging. In chapter seven, he talks about the different groups of people in New Auburn. “How does one negotiate the terms of belonging?” (p. 108). There is a very broad spectrum of ways to be a part of something or having a place with a certain group of people. Throughout chapter seven, Michael observes the different types of commonalities between the people of New Auburn. There’s a sliding scale to which a person considers their loyalties. “The standards against which you are measured are dependent on the milieu.” (p. 110). He mentions some of the things he has overheard one person frequently say about another. For example, “She’s quite a worker,” “He’s a helluva shot,” or “That boy can knock the stuffing out of a softball.” (p.110). One phrase, he says, that is not heard so often is “he crafts a lovely metaphor.” I think he is implying that although he is a great writer and finds joy in writing, it is not what is going to connect him to the people of this town. He had to find another way.
He compares the community to a collection of characters that you can’t force your way into. He has learned that your place develops over time. Michael talks about how the world has changed and we find it tougher to focus our loyalties and know how to belong or want to belong. In regards to fighting fire, he loves the idea of neighbors coming together and is thrilled to be part of the effort. “It feels good. It feels right. It feels like I belong.” (p. 123). Joining the fire department gave him a point of entrance back into the community. “I began to meet my neighbors at the invitation of the fire siren.” (p. 112). Everyone wants to be a part of something, to belong somewhere, and whether it is by occupation, hobbies, favorites, interests, politics, or religion, the people of New Auburn all share at least one common ground- community. “When the fire siren wails, two dozen of my neighbors and I act as one, on behalf of the community- my people acting on behalf of our people…” (p. 114).
This is the comparison and relation I found between chapters one and seven of Michael Perry’s memoir Population: 485. In chapter one, he shared his story of Tracy. He continues, throughout the book, to recall this memory often. This day has more meaning to him than just the loss of a member of New Auburn. While the day turned out to be a tragedy, it also marks a very important turning point of his return. “I began to realize how this fire department was a means of reentry, of rediscovering the place I had left a decade before, of recapturing my sense of place one tragedy at a time. I was realizing this service is a privilege, a way to weave myself back into the fabric of a place. Today we had tragedy, but it was our tragedy, and we dealt with it not only as public citizens, but also as friends and neighbors… To feel at home is a rare, precious thing, and I began to feel at home that day.” (p. 16).
Michael Perry is a great example of someone who really has passion for where he lives and for what he does. He has found his place in this world, his calling. He is a gifted writer and fire fighter, and knows what it is to truly be a part of something prodigious. Some of his neighbors he knows from his childhood, some from working with them at the fire department, and some from fire or emergency calls. Whatever the means of contact, he finds a way to connect with each and every one of his acquaintances and has a meaningful story to tell about them all. While some of his stories give feelings of happiness, a lot end in tragedy. To be able to find contentment and peace in both is a rare, magnificent characteristic. He has a wonderful perspective on life and takes time to celebrate the things most people take for granted. He treasures the land and absorbs the wonderful gifts it has to offer. After Michael joins together his love for New Auburn and his connection with his neighbors the feeling is complete. It changes the sense of being at home, to feeling at home. This is where he belongs.