Jan. 20, 2004 - 17:26 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Civilized ?

Looking at the world through a small boys eyes now. We would go to the hills. Sometimes it was to the mountains and sometimes just to the foothills, anyway higher than town and had the wonderful smell of pines throughout.

A pretty picnic spot by the road where there was room to park was to be had by anyone. And there were plenty of them. Back then people would carve a little road uphill and build a cabin and stay in it on the weekends, now and then perhaps some intrepid explorer would brave the humpy bumpy almost road and find a cabin at the end -- then find a place to turn around and go back. I do remember a few things, trash was taken back to town, fires were adequately put out and not a bit of litter was left.

The only fences I saw then were fences around farms or ranches, to keep he livestock at home. There may still be open range in Colorado, I don't know. There was then and fences didn't exist there. If a driver hit a cow, he bought the cow and payed for his own car repair, so I was told.

It seemed as I grew, little changes came about here and there. Near town when someone bought land to spare time farm, the first thing that went up was a fence even if there were no livestock. Of course that was near town, some low life humans might steal cherries or carrots, you know.

The older I got the further out our town grew. And so did fences.

My excitement of going to the hills began to wane as that land became fenced. I wondered why on earth that land was fenced in. No livestock, no neighbors and even the fence gates, many of them, were padlocked. Before that time I saw no evidence of vandalism, garbage, litter, campfires still smoking. Nevertheless fences began to show up in increasing numbers.

Made us feel hemmed in like cattle, it was as unfriendly up there as it seemed to be in town. Of course in town during the depression and many people out of work, edible and wearable things had a way of disappearing, I think it was about that time people began locking their doors.

The worst was yet to come, taking the joy out of being in the mountains. Big imposing edifices, all painted and sparkly sticking out like sore thumbs wearing a red finger nails covered with sparkles, multiplied up there. Guess they would have been nice in town but seemed too ostentatious up in the hills. Not only that it seems to me that the people who built up there had no idea of how to put a mountain residence up to where it blends in with the scenery.

So now we have garish houses stuck precariously up on the hillsides, fences, gas stations, bars et al. The feeling of being in the wilderness takes a person a much longer trek, to another state, really.

I know the population in our state has grown immensely, no doubt about that. But what does it take for people to be truly Civilized ? . . . . . . . . . . .

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