Musings of a country mouse...

[FirstLight]

I drove across the state of CA today... from the Sierras through Stockton into the East Bay... and I had several epiphanies along the way.

I am just SO awestruck by the amount of wild nature that separates my home from the rest of the "real world" it really hits me every time I venture forth and drive through the wilderness to get to civilization. So much raw beauty, so much danger, so much REALITY...and thank goodness. I see it as a buffer zone between me and the crazyness - if ever there was a societal meltdown of any sort, at least I am isolated enough not to be in the Midst of the mob. (though I am sure being isolated has it's own drawbacks...) I am very happy to be alone on my mountain...

Once I hit the foothills and the valley, I was really shocked by the farming towns and how many little places are really "drying up" and either big infrastructure and stripmalls and new buildings are popping up, or they are just turning into dust and people are struggling to get by. I saw a whole family (with babies in strollers, etc) huddled under an umbrella with a card table on the side of the road trying to sell tomatoes... and I wondered how desperate they were to make the rent or mortgage or to feed their children. and no, this was not a typical "migrant farmworker" family...they looked like people my kids would go to school with. so the mortgage crisis is hitting everywhere... and little mom & pop businesses are gone too, boarded up...
strange to see.

Then, I come over the Altamont (?) pass and see all the windmills for creating electricity - the service roads are dirt and in poor condition, and several windmills were totally broken. WTF? I guess it is just another piece of infrastructure that is falling apart? and if the windpower is so helpful, then aren't all the cars on the highway just making it all a moot point?

It's always an eye opener to make this trip, I do it a couple times a year - and it never ceases to amase me how BIG the infrastructure and sprawl really are...humans sure do make a big mess and take up alot of space!

what's even weirder, is that I grew up down here and it never bothered me when I was IN it. But now I freak out if I can't see the stars on a regular basis or hear the wind in the trees because it is so quiet...

*sigh* homesick already, and we are here till thursday! (daughter has tests at the children's hospital, any good vibes are welcome)

anyway, I just wanted to share this with you all...I think living on the mountain all these years has changed my view of mankind and all the trappings ...!

[Frustratedlady]

1. Thank you for the vivid description of how things have changed.

I think we all see it in varying degrees. Of course, around me are the floods and their aftermath, but Mother Nature has a better method of reviving much of that. It is the lack of attention by man which is lacking.

Strong thoughts for a good outcome for your daughter's tests. Bless her heart.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. Best wishes for your daughter.