old post 2010

EAST TO WEST in the US

When we woke up to the sound of the remnants of July 4th fireworks being set off and roosters crowing we knew it was going to be a celebratory type of day.

If Wisconsin was a woman she would be ample, live in a farmhouse with a homey kitchen and be equally capable in it or the barn. The ground is fertile with field after field producing a variety of lush produce. Tall, strong corn plants stretch toward the sun (I won't get off on a tangent about the corn probably being genetically engineered, what the effects of that are on our health and the health of the 'industry' and how Monsanto has bullied farmers and......). Round bundles of hay dot the the cut fields awaiting storage for winter use.

We celebrate our access to an abundance of food.

By the way, if Michigan was a person, he would be a punk with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, looking frayed around the edges and in need of a good clean up. The demise of a once dominant car industry has left cities with large, vacant buildings, abandoned houses and a dwindling population. We took a detour and found "Willow Run", the brain child of Henry Ford. he applied his technique of mass producing cards (Fordism) to churning B24 bombers during WWII at the rate of 640 per month. Now the massive buildings and airfields are silent and abandoned. Native plants are reclaiming the parking spots once reserved for the 26,000 workers, 60% of whom were women.  

We celebrate having jobs and the ability to work. 

We stumle upon Whitewater State Park and get a campsite perched overlooking the river. Our tent has a clear, mesh roof so that we can gaze at stars through the canopy of trees. It is sturdy given that there are no tent pegs. After we curse ourselves for not having  checked before leaving we realize it is only the tension poles that are a necessity.

We celebrate having a roof over our heads.