September 21
Before heading out of town, I worked for a couple of hours at Owen's...a real soda fountain/general store that has free wifi. I drove to another rest area in Washington to test our systems. I don't mind the drive, because the scenery is beautiful and the air is cool. Then I got my boots shined, washed my car, and made a return to Home Depot in Spokane. I ended up at my uncle's farm in Chattaroy Washington. It's an old homestead with rolling hills and forests. When I drove up the drive, there were cattle and chickens and dogs. The house smelled wonderful, and we had a feast of nearly a dozen fresh home grown vegetables and a roast. Wayne, my uncle, took me and a couple of my cousins on a walk in the twilight. There are dozens of wild apple and plum trees on the property, and we ate them right off of the tree. When we came back to the house, we all sat around a warm fire while my cousin's kids wrestled and played.
The world needs cities, and cities need rural environments, but I think much of America doesn't connect with nature anymore. Mankind needs a connection to the earth to be balanced. Nature calms adults and provides wonder to children. My most vivid childhood memories are of woods, and rivers, and mountains, and road trips, and farms, and building forts with my buddies in the trees. If we want to save this world, create a society of environmentally conscious citizens, and give young generations a respect and awe for creation, we must return to nature. We need a national effort to bring nature to our children. Let's create more urban community and school gardens. Let's fund public service announcements encouraging parents to take plant gardens with their kids. Let's give free passes to every citizen to visit and camp at a state or national park. Let's create city farms, on the outskirts of towns, that grow with citizen participation and are a laboratory for local schools...wouldn't it be great if every school kid had even one day a year where he and his classmates worked on a farm?
Maybe it's a silly idealistic notion momentarily in my head because I was eating wild plums today and the biggest priority of everyone here is to gather wood to heat their homes as the cold winter approaches. I don't think it's silly, though...just maybe idealistic.
Before heading out of town, I worked for a couple of hours at Owen's...a real soda fountain/general store that has free wifi. I drove to another rest area in Washington to test our systems. I don't mind the drive, because the scenery is beautiful and the air is cool. Then I got my boots shined, washed my car, and made a return to Home Depot in Spokane. I ended up at my uncle's farm in Chattaroy Washington. It's an old homestead with rolling hills and forests. When I drove up the drive, there were cattle and chickens and dogs. The house smelled wonderful, and we had a feast of nearly a dozen fresh home grown vegetables and a roast. Wayne, my uncle, took me and a couple of my cousins on a walk in the twilight. There are dozens of wild apple and plum trees on the property, and we ate them right off of the tree. When we came back to the house, we all sat around a warm fire while my cousin's kids wrestled and played.
The world needs cities, and cities need rural environments, but I think much of America doesn't connect with nature anymore. Mankind needs a connection to the earth to be balanced. Nature calms adults and provides wonder to children. My most vivid childhood memories are of woods, and rivers, and mountains, and road trips, and farms, and building forts with my buddies in the trees. If we want to save this world, create a society of environmentally conscious citizens, and give young generations a respect and awe for creation, we must return to nature. We need a national effort to bring nature to our children. Let's create more urban community and school gardens. Let's fund public service announcements encouraging parents to take plant gardens with their kids. Let's give free passes to every citizen to visit and camp at a state or national park. Let's create city farms, on the outskirts of towns, that grow with citizen participation and are a laboratory for local schools...wouldn't it be great if every school kid had even one day a year where he and his classmates worked on a farm?
Maybe it's a silly idealistic notion momentarily in my head because I was eating wild plums today and the biggest priority of everyone here is to gather wood to heat their homes as the cold winter approaches. I don't think it's silly, though...just maybe idealistic.
posted by Frank at 1:02 PM
1 Comments:
After reading your last two entries I was filled with envy...cool car toys, ipods, and "road trips". Have fun.
Pitt
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