I tried to sleep in this morning and I just can’t do it. So I figure I’d write a post after last nights exhausted scribble. The other day I was reading in Outside Magazine about keeping the places you like a secret. For example many people have outed some of their favorite hiking/camping/surfing spots and now they’ve turned into mob scenes. I’d like to apply that logic to back home in good ol’ western NY. See the problem with Wilmington is that too many people know about it and want to move here. When that happens a relatively cool little beach town gets turned into an overpopulated, chronically congested tourist trap. So when talking with people and friends about the economy back home, I always say I hope it stays shitty. The idea of my home possibly gaining prominence as a great “outdoors recreation area” or retirement location would destroy not only the small town feel, but cause bastions of housing developments to sprout up in what would be once nice places to take a hike or just sit and look at the scenery. It is my feeling that housing developments are a cancer on the land. They spread out destroying all habitat, and once that’s finished they put up houses and alien grasses that will look nice for all the happy people to see. I’d much rather have apt. complexes because at least with those you don’t have as much sprawl. the people are compacted into a smaller area, although they aren’t by any means a nice thing either. I just realize that I’m not a city guy, never have been never will be. You’d think living at the beach would be a nice place that relaxes you. For most people it probably does. However, for someone like me, who loves the outdoors, mountains and fresh air, this place drives me nuts. I wake up to drunks screaming outside(I’ll forgive that), dodge cars on my bike, dodge cars in my car, and probably waste more gas sitting at lights in congestion than I do actually driving. In fact sometimes I get so fed up I just turn my car off altogether at the lights. The reason for all this? Someone a few years back said, “Hey all, Wilmington is a great little town with a lot of potential, and it’s at the beach!” I’m sure at that time it was a great little town with a lot of potential. Though, many years have gone by and that potential has slipped away. With every drained wetland giving way to a housing tract, that potential silently slips into oblivion. With every 20 something, driving a huge Yukon a mile to the store by themselves, it slips a little more. Everyone seems to love the beach, but they forget it’s part of a system. There’s long leaf pine forests have have been essentially wiped out compared to their original range. Wetlands are constantly in danger from pollution, sewage spills or being drained to build upon. As much as people love the beach they forget it’s a part of that system, one they’re knowingly or unknowingly destroying. Once they’ve accomplished completely destroying the local ecosystem, we’ll see how many tourists come to town to enjoy local seafood or relax at an eroded beach. This is what I want to prevent, not just at home, but everywhere. I don’t want my kids(I’m not planning, but I’m not saying it won’t either) to grow up in a world where housing developments, huge cars, and technological junk, takes precedent over a walk in the woods or playing outside. I heard on the radio(Neal Boortz) that kids spend 60% less time playing outside today than they did just 6 years ago. I think it’s an overall trend of slowly moving away from our connection to the natural world and advancing towards one completely void of any natural interaction. My point is that if there’s housing tracts going in back home, I might try my hand at some monkeywrenching. It’s not that I want people to run around naked and eat granola bars. However, I would like for people to consider things a little more, whether it’s just trying to think what the land was like before you’re house was built upon it, or that the steak you’re eating came from a cow that had to give it’s life. So be thankful for what you have because of the natural world, and try to give back a little more than just always taking. Because, not too many years down the road at this rate, there will be no more left to take.