Trickle-Up

I originally bought my auto and home insurance locally when we moved back to Spring City, trying to at least deal with local people and keep a couple of the dollars close to home.
First, my auto agent sold his "business" to a gentleman in Salem, Utah, a place about fifty miles from here with a much larger economy than we have here in Sanpete. Then, four years later, the Salem guy sold me downstream to another agent in Provo, around seventy miles away and upscale in economy and otherwise than even Salem.
A similar thing happened recently to my homeowner's insurance. The agent went independent and sold his business to a lady in Gunnison, a place forty miles south of here. Not much in the way of economic change form here, but it is a step up.  I'm just waiting for her to sell us south to Richfield or Cedar City, remaining true to the trickle-up theory that I see digressing with even my dumb insurance policies and money that goes into them.
Seems pretty normal to me in the grand scheme these days.

Went up the Wales Divide to see how the seasons were progressing. There was a lull in work action and a deep need to see the face of God; that's where the fates guided.
I took a break on the top in an area with a wide flat where one could see far and all 'round. I sat in a chair and watched the thunderclouds form; haven't really seen that for a while. The clouds came up from the south, materialized over the eastern plateau, and climbed into the stratosphere in a wave stretching from south to north.
As the thunderclouds began climbing the west side of the valley, I thought I'd best head down from the top. Wish I didn't have such an aversion to lightning.
The rain was delicious down a little too; I was just glad to get away from those static prickles on top of my head...

As things really started progressing on the east side. 

Spring City's down there at center.

The young Aussie had a good time 'sploring the top, canyons and creeks.

Took a quick drive over the Payson loop again today after work.  Caught in a couple of storms on the road and on the trail; it was so nice to be out after this long week that it was worth every minute wet and cold. Deep, thick scents and similar light all along the way. The squirrels are busy and active on the edge of the clearings; I wonder how they plan their forays. Well, on second thought, they probably don't plan. Anthropomorphism is a tempting pattern. Who knows?
It was warm enough toward the valley that I dried of nice and quickly; August is a pretty good time to be alive.

There's nothing in this world like fresh green beans that are purple (!) before they are cooked and turn green.

Mmmm

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Economic Redirection

From Yes Magazine, an article on Seven Steps for Action Toward a New Economy.

Aniversary

Lo, these twenty many years ago, my sweetheart allowed me into her heart for good.
Each day better than the rest, every year built upon the last by better and worse; for me the sum total is that of joy and love that I cannot express other than by saying her name: Diedre Ann.
Thanks for staying with me, DrieAnya.

Divide and Conquor

From a young age, we're trained to be individuals defined by what we bring into our area of influence and control, and that we should associate with those of our own 'class' or group.  Schools, churches, zoned and income-based neighborhoods, and to an extent, the even more primally-based family organization give us to understand ourselves as part of divided and homogenized groups.
This makes it even more difficult to expand our minds past preconceptions and into understanding of ourselves as summed constructs and consciousness capable of new input and outlooks. Stasis of the mind as a result of group-based thinking is a comfortable place; affirmation of  belief and action is all around us and as close as another member of the group, usually someone very close geographically and quite used to similar input, both environmental and internal.
Though the group affords affirmation at a level numerically far above that of an individual, the most isolate unit of our society, the effect is ultimately to isolate each group form another based on the ideals and concepts mentioned before.  The difficulty of getting groups to cooperate and change based on new information and input is as difficult or more than getting an individual to understand the importance of close examination of ideas and ideals.
Thus, the society proceeds along a course set previously; either on a course of its own or manipulated by entities or individuals capable of mass communication and possessed of an understanding of these simple principals.
It's not easy to be self-determined and consciously autonomous; it's not to my mind and perspective even very simple to break down and examine.  Nevertheless, I see it as about the only way we're ever going to make it out of the  benighted social order we find ourselves bound by in most quarters of the world. I can only realistically hope that I can figure out my own silly self before going too far into the hole to dig myself out.