“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
~ Neil Gaiman
The Walk in Beauty project starting on January 4, 2012, the consequences being that I haven’t had pictures for the first few days of January 2012. Because 2012 just happened to be a Leap Year I decided I would share the photo from Wednesday, February 29, 2012 as today’s flashback – This is my pick photo for that day (2/29/12) and it shows a tree and an old water tower in a neighborhood I used to live in.
When I first moved to this city there was a charming mix of old businesses, a bus system that worked so well you could go pretty much anywhere for ten cents (if you were a student), some beautiful churches and few buildings taller than the church office buildings of the predominant religion. You could easily see the gorgeous mountains that ringed the valley and farmland started within walking distance. The air was very clean and even in the winter you could see the mountains all around and the glacier of Mount Timpanogas in high summer.
I moved here in the 1970s. I found the city beautiful and magical since I grew up in Southern California where the air was polluted most of the time and bumper to bumper traffic on the freeways added two hours of driving time to a busy workday.
Later on I found out that that Southern California once had a functional public transportation system and the areas I lived in were once wetlands, farms, and orchards with rich biodiversity before they were paved over.
So far, there is no “happily ever after” for Southern California or this once beautiful city that I have continued to live in. The cities, counties, and municipalities along the Wasatch Front copied the dysfunctional and unsustainable example of southern California and has become one more city where one must have a personal car or access to one in order to work (if you don’t work from home) and we often have some of the worst air quality in the country.
A few years ago we had a Governor (Huntsman) who wanted to change that. Sadly he was called away to be the ambassador to China (I hope he’s giving them some good advice about air quality) and we are left with a Governor who favors big oil and thinks buying new cars that run cleaner is the answer. Can everyone even afford a new car? A good question when progressive companies don’t want to bring jobs here because of the poor air quality and the effect it has on their employees’ health and productivity.
An additional problem we share with our sister area, Southern California, is there just isn’t enough water. We live in the desert.
There are solutions if we want to take action and work to turn things around. It would take some thinking outside of the box, putting our best minds to work, as well as some re-allocation of resources. We’d need to start walking the middle path (actually more walking would be better for everyone) and avoid both the far right and the far left. I think we need a better ending to this tale, don’t you?
Flashback Thursday, January 3, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars today’s sun as it is setting behind the Oquirrh Mountains. The air pollution gives it the dramatic colors, streaking, and ability to see the sun orb unaided.
Flashback Friday, January 3, 2014 – This is one of two today and it stars the seed head of some kind of flower that was growing under a small weeping Atlas cedar that lives around the corner. This is not the big one that I like taking photos of, but one that I’ve been encountering on my walks the last couple of days. I don’t know what this type of flower is because this is all that is left. If it is a perennial I might get to find out when it blooms in the upcoming seasons.
Saturday, January 3, 2015 – Today I have some photos of ice with roses and sage. To me they are very evocative and each one whispers a story in my ear.
“Do not lose hope – what you seek will be found.”
~ Neil Gaiman
“who is this beauty
frozen in clear solid ice
waiting for a kiss
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.”
~ Neil Gaiman
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Grace and Mystery 