You can take the boy out of the country... but

wait, we're still in the country. It's just a city within it.. nearly defenseless against it's natural counterpart. Yet we raise these mental bulwarks to block out the wild winds of the desert, echoing mountain ranges, ranging animals, canyon-gouging rivers, billowing thunderstorms, etc etc etc.

I rode my bike today around a river and beneath the overgrown underpasses crisscrossing the foothills of my Pasadena mountains. It was a glorious ride, full of rocky descents and colorful flowers and weeds. I found a little makeshift bridge crossing a steady stream surrounded by unkempt foliage. I stopped to feel the sun on my skin and smell the must of the late spring pollen. It was so quiet, and I noticed that there was nobody out there with me on the little trail save one girl who jogged by, sweating and smiling.

I eventually came to an opening that put me at the edge of a large and luxurious golf course, wrapped by a running track that was painted/sanded/prepped nicely. The track was smothered with hundreds of people jogging and playing in matching workout clothes and welltuned family patterns. Girls roller-bladed, kids biked, rich men ran, wives struggled to keep up. Hundreds of people.

Now, I understand comfort. I really do. But why is it that people never have an instinct to venture off the beaten path?
It takes a split second to see the trail, follow it and enjoy where it takes you; see what little learning experience or adventure you can discover. These trails all exist, but nobody occupies them! Instead everyone just jogs along in a boring circle around a flat, perfect track surrounding a landscaped golf course.

I don't really mind. I have my fun, and people will do what they do. They'll build cement canals for water that's already flowing the same direction through a valley floor. They'll build a high-rise in Burbank and hope that somebody rents out the office space. They'll overstock their shelves with 50 versions of the same thing then sit and wait. They'll listen to the radio and watch movies and TV then have a low opinion for aspiring artists. They'll get angry when the toilet clogs. They'll take the lettuce out of their sandwiches. They'll wear shoes and jeans when it's hot out. They'll talk and talk and talk. They'll jog on repeat around a single golf course track while surrounded by dozens of beautiful, eclectic forest trails.
They'll do endless amounts things that don't make sense to me, but I love people regardless. And if they're happy then I'm happy too. Just so nobody gets hurts.

Mikie