Reflections: Looking at the world through a car window
November 24th, 2009 | 
Author: The World at 55
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved watching the landscape pass me by while being the
passenger in a car. There is so much to see; the houses, the yards, the stores, the other
cars, the people. The broad spectrum of each sight is a phenomenon to behold!
Yards that are trashy’ tell me that there has been a lot going on and I would love to know
why that tractor was allowed to become a weed house; yards that are perfect and beautiful
tell me that the people there truly care, that appearance matters or that maybe they just
love working hard on their greenery.
Stores fascinate me; my favorites are the old ones that are fewer to behold and that have a
long history in Americana; the rounded signs above their doors advertising soda’s; their
white wash paint peeling without a seeming care in the world. They are destined to be in our
past forever and to be gone too soon.
The monotony of the strip’ shops bores me, but I do look to see what businesses occupy them;
there is usually a pretty neat-o variety, from an Indian grocery to the latest entrepreneur
trying to sell his own brand of pizza’s, going head to head with the franchises. I always
wish him well, knowing that I will continue to call the chain.
People of course are my favorite to observe, but they are a rare sight as we move down the
highway, roadways or avenues. They are usually in-doors where it is either cool or warm;
depending on the weather. Seeing a Mother walking on the side of the road with her groceries
and her children makes me very sad. She is usually not a native of America and therefore
does not know how to drive a car. While I am saddened at the sight, I am also teeming with
anger on the inside. She is a third class person in our land; her husband is first, her
children are second and she is nothing but the vessel and the cook. I see this too often, I
guess.
The folks who sit outdoors on their porches watching me as I watch them give me pause; while
they very might well be enjoying the weather and their conversation with one another it seems
that what they are truly doing is watching the world pass them by. I wave and they wave
back. I like that.
Yes, watching the world at 55 Miles per hour is a great hobby, the changes over the past
thirty years have been amazing to behold. Landmarks that I used to rely upon for me to know
in what place I was, where I was either no longer there or so crowded by other buildings and
businesses that I cannot even see them anymore!
Progress? Maybe, but sometimes I wonder.
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