 |
| Chehalis by Sarah McTernen https://www.etsy.com/listing/11824579/ |
An article was posted in the Seattle Times about the nature
of the northwest native. I will admit it
is a mediocrely written article with a pretentious tone and poorly argued
points but amidst all that is a grain of truth, the idea that sparked the
article to begin with. Though I may be
seeing what I want to see. In amidst the
too many words, I see the notion that us native northwesterners somewhere along
the line came here to be in the woods, to be in the wet, and to be mostly
alone. Oh, and we are fine with
that. Take your noisy politics and go
home, both sides. I will take my silent
forests and running streams, my industry of living off the land and replenishing
said land, I will take my cold mountain air and foggy beaches, wet summers and
sunless winters. I have webbed
feet.
The Puget Sound area used to be industrial, shipping, logging,
fishing, low brow and quiet, maybe a little bit on the smelly side. In the last
decade or two, the area has seen the rise of the tech companies instead of
industrial work, Bellevue has become a big city instead of a dingy beige town,
the I-5 corridor is clogged with cars and Seattle is itself pretentious. The world around here has become very
crowded.
I understand the way the world works, businesses grow and
bring more people and those people bring their ideas and everything is one big
happy melting pot, but I miss my quiet woods. Woods not filled with people in designer
hiking boots clinging to expensive walking sticks and talking about politics or
ecology instead of nothing at all.
The world is changing.
The small towns are being swallowed up everywhere, slowly but surely. The
tied to the land, hard-working roots of it all are dying out, being smothered
by the showy branches of an unknown tree.
That is the grain of truth I saw lingering between the pretentious banter.
That is what struck a chord in this girl who grew up walking through the old
trees, swimming in the cold waters, and listening to the sound of rain with a
smile.
Thank you for reading,
Sarah McTernen
www.anardentlife.com
Posts
