Thursday, March 10, 2016

Out there

Yesterday we set a record temperature wise here in Greensboro. It was a gorgeous day. As is my custom I settled in for a little afternoon nap. The windows were open and the birds were chirping. It is a different world with the windows open that much is sure. I could hear the sounds of the cars on the highway, the voices of people passing by and an occasional rustle of some tree limbs, dry and scratchy without their leaves. It just seems like the whole world was a bigger place, an inviting place. rather than a cold barren thing to pass through to get to work. Spring arrives in just ten days and I am anxious.
 I think this period of time when the mornings are crisp and the afternoons warm is becoming my favorite time of year. The time when the windows are open and no air conditioning is humming. It is a time that reminds me of my childhood, pre air conditioning. Oh Dad had a car or two with air conditioning , but that was later on. I don't recall ever having air in the house. I heard some people that lived upstreet had it though. The school certainly didn't. I do like living with the windows wide open. Strange how I lock my door at night and slide that deadbolt into place, yet don't feel insecure having the window open. Well the screen will keep the bad guys out. Oh you can still do that in Greensboro and feel confident it will not end in a home invasion ! The screen keeps the bugs out and that is enough.
 It is a short period of time that these conditions will last. Before long the a/c goes in the window and I will feel closed in again. Not that I won't welcome the relief of all that cool air, I sure will, but it does close it in again. I have the porch to sit on when I feel that need for open space so life isn't all bad. The porch isn't screened in so those pesky flying things can become a problem in the evening. Being a renter I can't just screen it in. One does have to make compromises sometimes and it is just a part of life. I don't have to cut any grass so that is a compromise I'll gladly make. Renting does have advantages.
 It is during this time that I think all of this has something to do with the way things are today. Are we becoming disconnected from the outside world ? I mean that literally ? There is a world outside that door. We are always either trying to heat ourselves against it or cool ourselves down. We lock the doors and close the windows tight. We are always concerned with the weather. I find that strange seeing as how we are better equipped to handle the weather now than at any other time in history. I mean, we don't have to chop wood to heat our homes, hunt to eat meat or grow gardens. Normal everyday weather is nothing more than an inconvenience to us. Snow, rain , hot or cold what impact does it really make ? It is only when it becomes extreme that we need be concerned. Yet we insulate ourselves from that. The time we do spend " out there " is either for work or play. The distinction being, it is a destination. A place we go. We don't live there anymore. A few do and call themselves " survivalists. " Man has moved indoors.
 Now I am not saying we all need to move outdoors and go camping. I am not advocating returning to the wild. What I am saying is that I think we are disconnected from nature just a little bit. We go out into the world, but return to our own fortress at night. Doors  and windows buttoned up against invasion by what ? Is it man or nature we fear ? In truth it is a little bit of both and has always been so. In years past I think we lived life with a little more edge to it. I'm betting our great grandparents would get quite the laugh out of us and our relationship with nature.

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