This is the first time in my memory where it hasn’t gotten cold enough to freeze the lantana in my yard. Instead, it’s blooming. The hackberry in my backyard still has leaves on its branches and there are violets blooming in January. If I were a simple person I’d be happy but I know that it’s too warm for winter.
When I was a kid, water flowed in the creek through town and ran that way well into my teen years. At the crossing near Paton’s the water was deep enough to splash birders with my grandma’s Ford Granada. Now the only time the creek sees water is during a few and far between monsoon floods. The kids of this town haven’t had the joy of collecting tadpoles from puddles kept full from daily summer rain.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, highway 83 was a dark and windy road that saw little traffic in the evening hours. Now it’s a super highway filled with big trucks, wide loads and winery traffic.
We used to be able to take a drive to the valley and not see a soul. Now we see Border Patrol and construction vehicles. What used to be an unencumbered view all the way to Mexico now has a wall blocking it. Wells are dug to further deplete the water and scars are being scratched across a countryside that used to belong to all of us. It makes my heart ache. Now I can’t go on the left side of the Valley Loop nor can I drive on the right. The mine and all its traffic have erased my memories of my dad’s old stomping grounds and the footprint of his old home in Harshaw. It’s best for my heart to avoid the area altogether.
Nationally, I remember when you could trust the news. We certainly didn’t have AI giving us false information. When Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather told us the top news stories it wasn’t skewed “right or left,” it didn’t take into account if it made a politician look bad. If the politician looked bad, that was their problem.
We used to hold elected officials accountable and now they are allowed to align themselves with whatever cause will make them richer.
This is our fault. I am not naive. I know corruption has always existed in government. I just know we used to impeach it.
In my elementary school we were introduced to McGruff the Crime Dog by a local police officer. McGruff’s job was to “sniff out crime.” We were all on board. Gen X kids were taught respect and admiration for law enforcement. They were the good guys. We waved at cops. We high-fived the campus cop, knowing he was keeping us safe. Now we have masked guys grabbing people off the streets and terrifying schoolkids, a far cry from what I learned growing up. For those of you that agree with this new law enforcement tactic, help this Gen X kid understand how we went from McGruff the Crime Dog sniffing out crime and us having a “cops are heroes” mindset to this new reality. It feels like a death. Rest in peace, McGruff.
If you’re reading this and thinking about running for office, here are some platforms I’d definitely vote for: more tadpoles in our puddles, make law enforcement heroes again in the eyes of children, politicians and news anchors can only tell the truth, make mines in hometowns bad, no walls ever and smooth driving conditions everywhere.
A girl can dream.
Cassina Farley can be contacted at cassinaandzachfarley@msn.com