...Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside 🎼
So goes the theme song from Green Acres, an old sitcom from way back in the day. It suits me to a tee nowadays, though, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
There have been times when I have lived in cities, (not many) and each time I found myself stuck there, my soul would cry rivers (as did my eyes.) Perhaps because I have never lived in affluent parts of cities, I have an intense dislike for them.
The stench of unwashed bodies crammed together like men on a chain gang. Dirty mouths spilling fetid breath into your face and over your shoulder.
The noise. The noise never stops...ever. Watching a bum roll another bum, stealing everything from those who have nothing. Sirens blaring, horns honking, drunks and drug dealers shooting each other and looking for love in all the wrong places.
The hustle and bustle that never stops. No place to decompress and recharge. No place to ground yourself. Sometimes not a tree or blade of grass in sight. Sometimes you can't even catch a glimpse of the sky.
These things and more are some of the reasons that society is in such a sad state, in my uneducated opinion. People were never meant to live in concrete jungles as it goes against all things natural.
On the other hand, I have lived the majority of my life in the countryside, and not the affluent parts of the countryside. Now, the unwashed bodies in my life are animals with an occasional unwashed farmer. Even then, I don't really mind the odor of an honest days work. It differs greatly from the unwashed stench covered over by some ghastly perfume.
The noise. It never stops here either. At least its the sound of birds singing and I can actually hear the hum of honey bees as they gather their pollen from the firebush and other flowering shrubs and trees. The crowing of roosters is off putting to some, but it is music to my ears, as is the hen song put out by those proud, proud hens. The dogs bark, the horses whinny, the cows, at times lowing out in their fields.
Gunshots ring out here, too, though it is mostly at the private ranges folks have. Tractors, side by sides, dirt bikes and airboats are other sounds heard on occasion.
There is hustle and bustle out here as well, though on such a different scale it is not even comparable. Trees and plants to put in the ground. Gardens to water and weed. There is no lack of grounding opportunities here. I usually fall into bed exhausted by the fresh air and busy-ness .
There is urban sprawl creeping out toward my place from both directions and I will stay here either until I die or the price gets high enough to sell out and move. When I moved here, we were on dirt roads, 17 miles out of town to the East and the same to the West. Closest grocery store...17 miles. There was a gas station and a blinking light 6 miles down the road. Now, the roads are paved, there's a damn dollar general across from the gas station and an occasional waft of fetid breath rolls in on the breeze.
Time is short. Tammy
Posted in response to the prompt - City living or country living, which is your preference and why? hosted by @galenkp in his Weekend Experiences community via the weekend-engagement prompts.