The Last Good Place

I guess everyone gets tired of the area where they live. People go on vacations to get away from it. I'm not sick of the land (you don't get tired of the scenery in western Colorado). I've spent about two-thirds of my life in the mountains, love being outside, like the climate. I'm tired of the changes though, I'm tired of the changes that come with excessive population growth.

True, it is inevitable. Change must happen, but it's not for the better. It's destroying what once was beautiful, ruining the land, losing the charm. It's been gradual, now it's explosive. People have moved in from all over the country for the new jobs that are available, but they don't love the land nor understand it. Everyone is entitled to make a living, but maybe some things should be left untouched. When do you say no, we can't take any more people, when? When do we say no more rude people, no more people who don't like being here, no more destroying why I moved here in the first place? Now violence is becoming common place where it once was rare, overcrowding is absurd, and only anger and resentment are left. Still, it is inevitable, and we all knew it would happen, just not so soon or so fast.

So what once was a good place now is ruined, the magic and wonder is gone, and it may be time to move on. All you can hope is that you'll find some place that still calls to you, that makes you glad to get up everyday, that you still care about. A land where other people still care, who love it too. For each person the call is different, everyone has their own ideal. Maybe I'm too much of an idealist, but somewhere there is the last good place. I'll find it, but I'm an impatient person, and the desire to move on is overwhelming, all-consuming, almost an obsession.