(Nothing But) Flowers

Listen while you read:  https://youtu.be/c3t5nmgRVMs

Years ago, I was an angry young man
And I'd pretend that I was a billboard
Standing tall by the side of the road
I fell in love with a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town
Now it's nothing but flowers
The highway and cars were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over, but I guess I was wrong

Once there was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
You got it, you got it

I miss the honky tonks
Dairy Queens and 7-Elevens
You got it, you got it

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
You got it, you got it

~  David Byrne (Talking Heads)

Happy Earth Day!

Okay, I had to go back nearly three decades for this one. Which only goes to show that we have been aware of the environmental threats to our planet for a long time now. And with this current administration, we seem to be going backward. I don't think Earth Day has ever been this important.

This song appears on 1988's Naked. In it, a post apocalyptic world is described, highlighting the protagonist's conflict between the beauty of the natural world and the convenience of modern technology. But Byrne messes with our heads by bemoaning the loss of the commercialized abuse of the land and the return of the natural one. It proposes the opposite of what is, in actuality, happening. Kind of like a "Big Yellow Taxi" in reverse. Very clever. I do have to admit, however, that I wonder if some will even catch the irony.

There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
You got it, you got it

There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
You've got it, you've got it

I am currently living in the land of shopping, most of it high-end. My participation is minimal. How much "stuff" can any one person consume? To what end? We are a country driven by consumerism. I have never been able to wrap my head around where all the garbage goes. Conversely, few things make me happier than finding a good home for "stuff" that I no longer want or need. Doing so is hard work, but well worth it. (Anybody looking for a set of Pfaltzgraff Christmas dishes? How about some Disney VHS tapes? A 40-gallon aquarium, anybody?)

Don't leave me stranded here.
I can't get used to this lifestyle.

Which lifestyle would you want to get used to? One that honors the Earth? Or one that has the power to destroy it? If I am correctly predicting your answer, do something to honor the Earth today.