Happy Contrails To You

We say we live in the middle of nowhere, and that civilization is just a memory. We feel like we're close to nature, in tune with the non-manmade world and all it has to offer. But the truth is that technology is never far away, and the influence of cities reaches to every corner of our world.

The two photos seen here are sunsets as seen from our back yard. Notice that there's a contrail slashing across them, an angry white line scarring the clouds and sky. While I sat there in my little country enclave, a giant metal tube full of people from all over the country was flying through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour, hurtling on to other cities and places.

There are vanishingly few places on this planet where you can really "get away from it all" – our tendrils are touching everyplace and everything and everyone in a stunning number of ways. That's good and bad both, I suppose, but it makes me sad to think that even a sunset isn't free any more.