1969

As anyone who lived through it would remember, 1969 was a very important year.  Every day, now that it is 70 years since then, there have been articles or reminders of the many noteworthy events of that year:  The moon landing, of course, the BIGGEST event of the 20th Century, the summer of LOVE, Woodstock (50th anniversary), the British invasion through music and my topic of today, the fire of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio!

Up until the 1960's and 70's no one paid much attention to the devastation of our unchecked industrial ravages of the natural world, then the 13th fire of the Cuyahoga River made front page news.  It wasn't, obviously the first time the river had caught fire, but it was the time the country took notice and it was a cover story in TIME magazines.  The Clean Water and Clean Air Act was passed and the clean-up of the heavily polluted river began.  Today, through tough regulation and conservation, the river is usable by both industry and recreation and is cleaned up enough not to be a danger to anyone.

The final fire of 1969 took place when sparks from a freight train ignited the river and Randy Neumann made a song about it Burn River Burn.  It was a US disgrace that caught people's attention at last.  

If only people cared now the way they cared then, maybe we could stop the destruction of our planet n time to save our only home.  It made me think about something I had heard about early plans for using the moon as a place to detonate nuclear bombs for testing.  Thank heavens some common sense prevailed and that plan was ditched.  I don't know about you but I don't want to live on Mars or the moon.  I like it here on earth, though, it almost makes me cry to see more and more of the agricultural treasure that is New Jersey turned into the cancer of development.  

I just came home from my doctor's appt., my annual wellness visit. My doctor's practice was bought out by Kennedy Health Systems and moved to Sewell, and then Jefferson bought out Kennedy and the practice was moved to West Berlin on Rt. 73.  Amidst the clutter of shopping malls, fast food places, and all the other detritus that clogs the highways and byways of New Jersey, it was hard to find the new Jefferson building.  In just my lifetime, New Jersey has been nearly paved over and I am sad to see the Real Estate signs on the small patches of woodland that have survived the developers.  I especially mourn the creatures clinging to survival in these small patches that will soon be filled in paved over and turned into more outlets, fast food chains and housing developments.  

Anyhow, we can hold onto the hope offered by the clean-up of the Cuyahoga River.  The environmental movement appears to have lost its steam though my mailbox is often filled with conservation calendars and brochures begging for funds my my minimal pensioner income.  I fear for the future, mine and our planet's.  
My HMO was bought out, my doctor's practice was bought out and increasingly one entity is gobbled up by another in a constant flow of change and demands for adaptation that as I get older and my vision grows poorer, I am afraid I may not be able to manuever around.  I hope Uber lasts long enough for me to be able to rely on it for transport to places I can no longer find.

Sorry about this negative post.  Even though my visit was positive and I have no new problems to cope with, the ordeal of finding a address too new for my gps left me depleted.

Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
wrightj45@yahoo.com