Been away from home for a week - nothing overly glamorous just basic wandering really, a break from same ol'same ol'.
We began with a trip to Oklahoma City. One of husband's great-grand-daughters was taking part in a Modern Dance Arts Recital at the city's Performing Arts Center. We met up with various other family members and friends for lunch before the performance.
The recital included a variety of age groups, from teeny tinies to almost adults, all students of dance. Music for the dance performances, throughout, were all Grammy Award winning songs or musical pieces. The show was well-presented, entertaining, and obviously a lot of hard work and practice, practice, practice had been involved, especially for the wee ones. Husband had only a pocket camera with him in the theater, and we were sitting fairly far from the stage, so though there were some good opportunities for photographs, these sadly were not able to be taken. Below is, I think, great-grand-daughter in full Terpsichorean mode - blurry though! And from afterwards, husband's daughter, her son, and her grandson, who is of course, husband's great-grandson, wee Milo.
After the show we pressed on into deepest Oklahoma, and next day, through constant heavy rain, into north-western Arkansas. Arkansas does not receive all the credit it deserves for being a beautiful state - especially the northern areas. We drove on roadways, tree-lined, backed by many acres of National Forest that would rival similar roads in Colorado for scenic grandeur. We opted to stay in Rogers, but unknown to us we had picked dates on which a national convention of Walmart people (not sure if shareholders or staff, or what - but Walmartians of some ilk) was about to take place. Bentonville, a town next to, and more or less joined to Rogers, is I understand, the heart and home of Walmart. My 2007 post about Sam Walton, founder of the supermarket monstrous empire, is HERE by the way.
The first 3 hotels we tried in Rogers were booked and even, the clerks told us, "over-booked" for the next few nights. We eventually found a room, but only for one night, later to be extended to two after a Walmartian cancellation was received, and the clerk kindly informed us of this and extended our stay.
We headed back south and west before Walmartians arrived in full stampede mode, drove via one or two eastern Oklahoma towns, exploring any stray antique/vintage stores along the way.
Yes, yes, we were naughtily putting more CO2 into the atmosphere, and it's already overloaded with that stuff. My excuse, and I'm sticking to it, is that for my first 63 years on this earth, in the UK, my carbon footprint has to have been minuscule as compared to the average American's footprint during those years. I walked, cycled, rode the bus or train for 90% of the time. When we had a car it was an old Mini, and good for fairly short trips only - hardly ever used for more. I don't drive, by the way. So, I reckon that now, when I live in an area with no public transport whatsoever, and outside of walking distance for anything, our use of the car is necessity. Vacations are by car - and unless we become hermits in our house and yard, then we have to put CO2 into the atmosphere. Husband can blame me, I shall never feel guilty over this. I'm no virtue-signaller, there are more than enough of those around in the USA at present anyway. I'm a vice-signaller, I guess!
We began with a trip to Oklahoma City. One of husband's great-grand-daughters was taking part in a Modern Dance Arts Recital at the city's Performing Arts Center. We met up with various other family members and friends for lunch before the performance.
The recital included a variety of age groups, from teeny tinies to almost adults, all students of dance. Music for the dance performances, throughout, were all Grammy Award winning songs or musical pieces. The show was well-presented, entertaining, and obviously a lot of hard work and practice, practice, practice had been involved, especially for the wee ones. Husband had only a pocket camera with him in the theater, and we were sitting fairly far from the stage, so though there were some good opportunities for photographs, these sadly were not able to be taken. Below is, I think, great-grand-daughter in full Terpsichorean mode - blurry though! And from afterwards, husband's daughter, her son, and her grandson, who is of course, husband's great-grandson, wee Milo.
After the show we pressed on into deepest Oklahoma, and next day, through constant heavy rain, into north-western Arkansas. Arkansas does not receive all the credit it deserves for being a beautiful state - especially the northern areas. We drove on roadways, tree-lined, backed by many acres of National Forest that would rival similar roads in Colorado for scenic grandeur. We opted to stay in Rogers, but unknown to us we had picked dates on which a national convention of Walmart people (not sure if shareholders or staff, or what - but Walmartians of some ilk) was about to take place. Bentonville, a town next to, and more or less joined to Rogers, is I understand, the heart and home of Walmart. My 2007 post about Sam Walton, founder of the supermarket monstrous empire, is HERE by the way.
The first 3 hotels we tried in Rogers were booked and even, the clerks told us, "over-booked" for the next few nights. We eventually found a room, but only for one night, later to be extended to two after a Walmartian cancellation was received, and the clerk kindly informed us of this and extended our stay.
We headed back south and west before Walmartians arrived in full stampede mode, drove via one or two eastern Oklahoma towns, exploring any stray antique/vintage stores along the way.
Yes, yes, we were naughtily putting more CO2 into the atmosphere, and it's already overloaded with that stuff. My excuse, and I'm sticking to it, is that for my first 63 years on this earth, in the UK, my carbon footprint has to have been minuscule as compared to the average American's footprint during those years. I walked, cycled, rode the bus or train for 90% of the time. When we had a car it was an old Mini, and good for fairly short trips only - hardly ever used for more. I don't drive, by the way. So, I reckon that now, when I live in an area with no public transport whatsoever, and outside of walking distance for anything, our use of the car is necessity. Vacations are by car - and unless we become hermits in our house and yard, then we have to put CO2 into the atmosphere. Husband can blame me, I shall never feel guilty over this. I'm no virtue-signaller, there are more than enough of those around in the USA at present anyway. I'm a vice-signaller, I guess!
Thought you'd done a runner! Your comments on CO2 emissions interested me. We drive everywhere and I have no sense of guilt whatever. One cannot give up living, and I believe it's up to the politicians to force car manufacturers to build vehicles that don't emit harmful gases (at a price that ordinary folk can afford to pay, and with a hefty dividend for scrapping one's old car). I get a bit tired of the homespun 'live off the land, eat bugs and snails, and wash once a month whether you need it or not, brigade - particularly while the 1% are jetting about in their private jets and roaring around the country in their limos and fancy sports cars. If they were taxed realistically we could probably all afford CO2-free vehicles.
ReplyDeleteTake all the trips you like. At our time of life the amount of greenhouse gases we'll pump aloft before we eventually snuff it is probably less than one Jumbo jet crossing the Atlantic.
Good to see you back.
RJ Adams ~ Hey there! Well...in an ideal world we'd all be living "off grid", eating home-growns and a few bugs, freezing in winter, boiling in oil in summer - but it's nowhere near ideal - a million miles from it in fact.
ReplyDeleteVirtue-signallers love to parrot "but it all begins with YOU!". Yeah maybe it does, but in each and every election I try to elect those who will do their best for the planet, and am stymied each time - so... it ends with me too.
Thanks for your encouragement, RJ - I almost added the thought you've posted towards the end of your comment, while drafting the above - re age. Yep, last laps are us! :-)
Go for it. I do my bit and as mayor of my town encourage what I can. But the large pigs at the trough of every parliament don't give a rat's and we're beyond the point of no return climate wise now. So live long and prosper on the road. Walmart and. Have to love it.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
Wisewebwoman ~ Oh - I didn't know, WWW, that you're now the town's mayor - congratulations!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem that climate change is way past the point when small bits of help can do anything helpful. Only hope is that it might be slowed down, enough that scientists can come up with...well something. Slowing it down would take huge and determined efforts by, first of all governments, and on numerous fronts. That won't happen, at least not without some calamity forcing it on them - and us.