I know that some people just love living in the clouds. They obviously don't mind waiting for elevators, spending time riding to the 49th floor in one and then shutting themselves away in a small unit made of glass. This exercise is then reversed in the morning to leave the high rise. Twice a day, maybe more on weekends, time is spent to reach that home in the sky.
No I need a garden; I need my feet on the ground and I need neighbours. Fortunately, I have great neighbours, although the house to the east of us is building on a full extension, so those neighbours have left for a year and at the moment there is just a huge hole in the ground and mounds of earth leaning against a rickety fence just a foot or two from our outdoor kitchen/dining room. We don't pray for rain :) Yes, I know I was just saying how much I enjoyed being near the earth, well maybe not that close!
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| Skyscrapers |
Now, back to those towers, which are slowly encroaching. In fact, if they tear down the row of 7-story older apartments that abut the south end of our garden and replace them with these giants, we would be in dense shade all year. Then again, if they wanted to buy the back half of my garden for a handsome price, I maybe wouldn't mind so much.
Although I love the convenience of the city, there are times I really miss the open spaces of the country. When we chose this location 30 years ago, we thought that we had a reasonable balance between city amenities and country garden. However the city has decided to grow up around us, in a claustrophobic march of monoliths. Help I'm feeling a bit squeezed!!
On a lighter note and in preparation for the celebrations tomorrow, here is a favourite poem on Skyscrapers -
Scrape Me Some Sky
Skyscraper, skyscraper,
Scrape me some sky:
Tickle the sun
While the stars go by.
Tickle the stars
While the sun’s climbing high.
Then, skyscraper, skyscraper
Scrape me some sky.
~Dennis Lee
Also from Hellopoetry.com - 192 poems with the word "Skyscraper" in them.
I read a few. I really liked the one City Love. It's about how they have taken down some old buildings to put up skyscrapers in a french quarter of what sounds like Saigon. Celebrate with a tall glass of something :)
Have a wonderful day!!
I don't like skyscrapers because of my fear of heights. I used to have to go up into the heights of the University of Texas building every one remembers that guy shot off of. I would never go close to the windows, but I did look out them. Sorry my words have escaped me.
ReplyDeleteI love skyscrapers- but I am always petrified of being locked in their elevators. I think every one of those buildings should be required to have a generator that would power emergency lighting AND the elevators. But, then, I am not in charge...
ReplyDeleteI don't love skyscrapers. I suppose they can add beauty to a city skyline, and I understand our need for them in today's growing population, but I don't want to live near one or, like Roy, climb in its elevator. I, too, and paranoid about getting stuck in there. And, of course, after 9/11, a fear of skyscrapers is born anew!
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of sky scrapers!
ReplyDeleteIn London, there is a skycraper that we call the 'walkie-talkie'. It is made of glass and reflects the light. So much that, if you park your car on the street, it melts the plastic...scary.
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