Beauty and the Beholder

First things first -

Dear City of Portland and construction workers on 82nd: 

Just how long does it take to build a fricken cement wall so people don't cross the street in the middle?  I know nothing about building walls but I'm pretty sure I could education myself, find the crew and materials and have one built already.  Hasn't it been 3 months?  Geesh. And $400,000 to make it an "art" wall?  Really?  How about a $50,000 fence and spend the other $350,000 on homelessness and the prostitution problem that plagues 82nd.  So when is the wall going to be done?  I suppose it would be overly ambitious of me to expect it by Christmas since it did take 3 months to pour the concrete and move a crosswalk 10 feet.

In other news... beauty is subjective isn't it?  We were at a party Saturday night and one girl was talking about how beautiful and green Portland is.  While I will agree it can be pretty here at times, AT TIMES.  It is definitely not all year round.  This morning as I suffered through a 9 degree windchill I drove to work in a barren gray tundra.  Yes the sun was out but aside from the pine trees you see trees all around that have sent their green into retreat for the next 6 months.  I didn't have the heart in me to argue because I don't want to knock Portland.  It has it's great side.  But if you don't think Southern California is beautiful I think maybe you went to the wrong place.  I mean, nearly every sunrise and sunset is gorgeous.  There are mountains all around - 20 minutes away depending on where you live.  Let's not forget the miles of pristine beach that is also super close to wherever you go (except the inland empire). Yes it can get kinda brown 6 months out of the year there but at least you still have the sunshine, the mountains, the beautiful beaches, the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.

Ah yes, that is beauty to me.  It's all in the eye of the beholder isn't it?

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Comments

[darrell]

So true, there is much to love about the beauty in SoCal, as long as you can see past all the brown to the other. Spring green will be here before long and all the gray will be forgotten.