The Field

There's a field by my house. It's nothing special, just an empty lot. There are old mattresses, bathroom sinks, bottles, cans, used condoms, etc. that mark the territory. A big 'ol sign announces the fact that soon, there will be another shopping area for me to visit. It tells me I can even lease a spot if I want. Which, of course, I have been considering. This place needs a mom n' pop restaurant, or a bar, or something interesting. But that's besides the point.

This field is nothing more that a dumping ground for garbage. But I love it. Especially now, I truely love it. If you look past the outer edges and squint your eyes enough to make the roads, cars, condos, and shopping centers fuzzy, you can almost see what parts of California might have looked like a 100 years ago.

During the past couple of days I have counted no fewer then ten types of flowers. They range from bright purple, pink, white, to orange. The greenery completely covers every inch of dirt and it looks like a meadow of ages past. I'd love to run around in the field and hide among the flowers for hours on end, looking at the bugs (plenty of ladybugs flying around) and the black birds with the bright red spots, and hope for a little peace after a long day. It's my wild place in an area that's so built up, so perfect that I feel like I could be located anywhere, or nowhere.

Today, my imagination came to a halt when one of those bright huge yellow vehicles, one of those that indicates "Construction is starting soon" was standing there right in the middle of the whole field, rising high above my wilderness. It was a lone, solitary piece of equipment which looked like it was pronouncing itself king over the the field. Which, in a sense it is. It will destroy the very meadow it's standing in. It will make my flowers disappear. It will help build another sterile boring store. It makes me sad.

I know my field will soon disappear. I know I will no longer be able to grab the seeds off the ends of the weeds and scatter them to the winds. I know that I will probably be able to buy my morning Chai right where that vehicle stands. I know I will be happier with my field.