Many people recognize this scene in Salt Lake. I drive by it almost every day. This time, at the stoplight, I hurried and got my camera out. This scene enthralls me, and I find myself having an emotional reaction to it almost every time. I'd like to tell you why, but before I do, I wonder if you would be so kind as to tell me your thoughts, even if it is nothing...tell me so.
What does this scene say to you?
14 comments:
the scene is oddly beautiful but in the future this scene will be considered barbaric. we'll look back and wonder how the general populous could tolerate the polluting smokestacks. just guessing.
It says to me... my poor children. Poor any children. Poor people with asthma. Silly how inefficiently it is to let so much "stuff" just get into the atmosphere like that. Couldn't it be capped, and captured, and used in some way, like for energy or something.
And, aren't those factories pretty at night, with all the lights and such. Like a fairy tale castle when seen far away.
This is the exact scene that made me refuse to rank Utah higher on our list (med residency programs).
When I see it I say " yuck, not me".
This trip however was the first time I didn't notice it and instead had my eyes turned to the mountains.
i think i know this scene... and i think behind those factories is a little cluster of houses called Swedetown... i was fascinated by what i have heard about it... the way it is tucked behind those factories... hope you don't mind that this comment is about to get huge... this is what i found online...
Swedetown
Swedetown, located between Beck Street and Interstate-15 and between Everett Avenue and 1900 North was originally a suburban development promoted by businessmen eager to profit from the great influx of Swedish Immigrants into Salt Lake City in the 1880's. The land was surveyed, sidewalks laid, trees planted and homes built in hopes of creating a large suburban development. Water was piped from a large artesian well and from a spring in the mountains to serve the residents who had begun to erect homes on their newly acquired lots. However, an insufficient supply of water restricted the growth of the development. In 1930 there were approximately 375 residents living in Swedetown. According to the 1990 Census, the population was 105 residents. Currently there are approximately 36 houses in Swedetown. Swedetown has severe environmental issues including a water table depth of 0-5 feet, high liquefaction potential, hazardous materials sites in the immediate vicinity, and Comprehensive Environmental Response and Compensation Liability and Information System (CERCLIS) Sites: ((Petrochem/Ekotek Recycling (Superfund) and Utah Metal Works)).
maybe it is because i have only been to that little town in the last couple of months - but it has always been gray and gloomy... muddy and grungy...and cold... even on sunny days it still feels this way.
I have a great story involving both this club (Jimax) and the Swedetown Pub down the street, but I'll tell you later.
P-O-L-L-U-T-I-O-N
I should probably write some great but meaningful story where a truck driver leaves a waitress a large tip that saves her home in Swedetown, but I just can't.
And my first thought was are people still celebrating the night and haven't gone home yet, or is this where they start the day? It's odd to see a club sporting beer open at dawn.
yuck. sad.
Oddly enough, I'm reminded of Fried Green Tomatoes.
That pole in the foreground looks like a cigarette... The red light is saying, "Soon you will turn right! But not now." It's strange that we owe pollution to our beautiful sunrises.
I just read this last night:
"The pollution of the planet is only an outward reflection of an inner psychic pollution."
-Eckhart Tolle "The Power of Now"
How did we ever decide to poison our air, our bodies, our relationships? We've got a lot of pain to take care of, and it shows in scenes like this.
This scene makes my heart swirl in confusion, in standing up for change, in motivation for understanding other people’s lives, in accepting what I cannot change. It makes me cry to think of addictions. It makes me happy that everyone finds their space, their place where they feel safe, where they can find consistency.
People go from hiding in their mama’s apron to hiding in the solitude of a beer. The pain of a 3year old is equal proportionally to the pain of a 90 year old. We all contribute to the pain and joy we find present in this world.
And just when I want to lose all hope, and in the decay and pollution of our inner beings and in the choking power of smoke and emotional soot and pain and alcohol and mental depression…
I look behind this scene...any scene...and there’s a sunrise. That sky is literally pink… Like a sweet little girl’s dress. Like an innocent baby’s cheeks. Like...something new.
This scene reminds me to be kind. Kind to people, kind to the earth, kind to myself, kind to those who know more than I do, kind to those who don't know much at all.
I care very much about the pollution of this earth. Tolle's quote helps me understand that it isn't only about environmental rallies and political administrations (although, holy cow... yes it IS about that!!)
My THOUGHTS, my INTENTIONS, my ACTIONS... are reflected outwardly and affecting the world I live in. I believe in something new. The elimination of addiction, the dissipation of hate, the exoneration of pain.
It's a message of hope for me as I continue my self-improvement journey.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts with us.
So looking at the picture the obvious thoughts of man look at that pollution we are breathing in, to the thought of but boy does it make a sunset beautiful.
I think sometimes that is Gods way wy of saying hey I am here. We are surrounded by ugliness, "pollution", and it can get very hard to remember the beauty at times. So when the sun does set and the sky is filled with pinks, purples, blues, and yellows, it kicks me back into the rememberthe beauty mentality.
Now I'm thinking (after reading your next post)...
skinny dipping in a gas mask...
It makes me think of mans search for wealth, pride and ease. How money drives the world and peoples actions. That money and economies come first, then everything else including the enviroment.
It also reminds me of how people will say they will do anything for their kids to have a better future and then go home a waste power an many other things providing the demand that drives the ruining of the enviroment for their children. Its just so sad an ironic.
Then I think of some people in my country who do not have running water, electricity or decent education and think of what a mess things are.
But hey, i also saw the snow in the picture and thought how nice that would be and how pretty it is. (I suppose it goes without saying it does not snow where I am)
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