I have wondered about people moving into older homes ever since I was young and a nice cozy homestead on the outskirts of the city I mused over as a child was ripped to shreds.
The home was the property of the best friends of my Grandparents, in Richard and Lillian. They were early settlers to America, and owned some historical Indian property which they sold to the state and retired on the income.
They were a sad couple in they had only one daughter and she died, I believe, from drowning at the lake.
We visited them once as a child, and I remember Lillian's old photos and that of her daughter on a local landmark of a large rock which I have visited many times.
I always thought if I had to live in town, that is the type of place I would like, as it was almost country, by a lake and was so brushy cozy with lilac bushes and old maples.
Rich and Lil died about the time I graduate high school, and a girl from my class with her husband bought the property and immediately tore out all the trees, demolished things, and made it just look ghastly.
The thing is I have seen this take place numerous times and it just baffled me to the core, as I could never comprehend how if someone had lush growth of bushes and old trees that God just sort of maintained too look nice, why would you tear the hell out of everything and remove that quaint appearance.
As I was driving home today from errands, I was looking at Rich and Lil's property. Their house was gone now. The garage was moved out long ago.........but in the place is a new built home and now a new garage is being attached.
All the lush growth has never recovered, but of course trees are replanted and growing there.
It then by Inspiration came to me in the reason people do this kind of destruction, in they are destroying the waste of their own lives, cleaning things up what they can not clean up personally, and taking it out on a new property to give them a new start.
To me, it is a horrid thing in ripping out plants and destroying wildlife habitat just because you feel like crap inside yourself and want a clean slate. That is what Jesus and forgiveness if for and can not be found on the end of a backhoe and scorched earth.
I now know the reasons for this, but it does not make me feel any better. I realize my property looks like a rundown redneck haunt, but I found that wasting your energy in keeping things prim is a losing battle as God's nature wins out, and I do like the homey feel of old growth, and enjoy the songbirds flitting in the bushes......it just is contentment, compared to a newness with no Christmas experience in it.
It is really sad to me losing what Rich & Lil were comfortable in, because I always found comfort in it too. I can still hear Rich's old German brogue and his arguing with my Grandpa so long ago.......but then my Grandfather's place has gone scorched earth too in not being like I remembered in being a nestles place that always welcomed me to some better place than the stark outside world.
I guess it is good for American with money in it is easier to rip houses and trees apart in making debt, than just going to Jesus and being forgiven and letting it all slide.
Oh and the original scorched earth couple, are now my distant neighbors with a prim and proper new house............and I suspect in 20 years when they are no more, someone will come out and rip their planted forest out too..............just to make something better outside which they have failed inside.
agtG
