There Is No Art Without Heart: THE HILLS ARE ALIVE...

October 23, 2007

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE...

But that's not the sound of music you hear, that's the roar of the beast and this is the view from my back patio! And for the last few days, life as I know it has been all about FIRE! This morning the birds weren't singing and those few that I saw, their flight was bogged down with the weight of heavy air currents that usually allow them to glide and wing in their ballet of flight. However, there is no classical entertainment today. The air is harsh and pregnant with smoke, ash and debris and we all suffer the minor casualty of clogged nasal passages and burning eyes.

I have been through tornadoes and, worse, hurricanes that rock the very foundation where you are standing because wind and water can dominate and destroy the route they take, but this, this fire, is so different. The wind, sans water, that I watch from my patio with no rocking noticeable carries, provokes and feeds the embers it creates into racing walls of destruction. I cough and my eyes tear, but I am still mesmerized by this power that brought man from the dark into a civilization. This power that can create a life of it's own, eating and destroying everything in it's path to grow ever stronger.

And what it gives back is ash. You can see it in this picture, spewing everywhere, filling any clean gap that might have escaped: reminds me why I have to keep my doors and windows shut, no matter how claustrophobic it can make you feel.

MORDOR!!!! And who was it that said fairy tales don't come true? However, after you have looked, breathed and lived this for a couple of days, you are more than ready for a good old fairy tale. I especially love the ones where the main idea is...