"In this book, I finally wrote myself out of my outsiderness," Rubén Martinez says. Though he remains a nomad, at least physically -- he and Angela split their time between Oakland and Los Angeles -- "existentially, my home is all these different places. My home is the West, my home is the desert, my home is the border fence. Wherever I go, somebody could say 'Hey, I have a deed from King Carlos V that says I've been here 15 more generations than you.' And I'd say, 'That's cool.' But I'm still from here." 

 - A fragment from a profile of Rubén Martínez on High Country News.

Is there any way to be in a place for generations and talk about it that generational history without it being read as aggressive and exclusionary and parochial? I'm honestly wondering about this question. I'd love to hear your thinking.