with some disgust...

My wife and I drove down our road this morning and were rudely reminded that there are crude humans living among us.  The image is of trash dumped along our roadside last night, purposely pushed in where extraction of it will take much more labor than would have been the case if the culprit had simply dumped it in plain site. I alerted the sheriff to the situation and have hopes that the authorities will act. Those who do such things should be forced to clean it up. There is a beautiful small waterfall right there at that spot. Is it not amazing that the culprit would choose to desecrate that place of all places, choosing a place of particular beauty as the place where he would deposit his filth?

I realize that not all people in the world share the same moral fiber. Some are driven to the edge by depression, or by the influence of drugs. Among the discarded debris is a small teddy bear, hardly recognizable among the filth. That tiny bear is a reminder that character and the construction of human culture is a long term enterprise, for the worst of human character may be passed along generation after generation unless some stopping point is found.

Human beings are rapidly making a huge mess of things. Whereas, craftsmen, on the other hand, turn to the making of useful beauty as a moral imperative, and are made whole in the process. Can we not create a society in which craftsmanship and the character derived from it are cherished and rewarded? The benefits would be enormous.

I am working on a chapter of my book as rain has been falling in the forest all day. I wish all could live in such beauty and be nourished by it.

Make, fix, and please create...