Last week I had a bad dream. I dreamed I was in a local mall parking lot, and talking to someone, trying to give directions. When I turned to point at a local mountain, I saw that it was completely shorn of trees, and a nasty swirl of smoke and red clay dust was ascending to the sky. Noise of heavy equipment was pounding the air, and men were swarming over the landscape, cutting any tree left vertical, or bulldozing them under. One of my favorite mountains was cloven in two, and was being destroyed before my eyes. As I looked around, I saw a panoramic view of the hills around me, and all of them were the same way, all trees gone, and the sweet lovely mountain soil gouged down to the hard, dusty red clay. Condominiums, gated communities, golf courses, malls, and other eyesores were being built over these formerly green clad mountains I have called home for more than half a century. No bird was flying but for a few crows, black against the red of the clay and the hazy gray sky.
I awoke from this dream with a sense of foreboding, but when I went out that day, most of the mountains still had green on them. However, unfortunately, many did not. There is a mountainside near Swannanoa that is being systematically raped in the name of an "exclusive community with a golf course", rumored to be built by a famous young golfer - I used to respect him, but now have little use for him. That is, if it is true. I will attempt to reserve judgment.
Almost every day I see an TV ad by an disgusting little man with a grin of evil on his face telling how he had a whole mountain top cut to improve a view in his gated community near Hendersonville. Where you used to see mountain tops, you now see big expensive housing monstrosities. Big ugly expensive housing monstrosities.
At one time, I could look out on the mountains and see only the lovely green hills, and blank out of my vision the strip malls, gated scabs of "communities", golf courses, and raw hillsides left after building yet another rich persons whim, but after that dream I can't. It hurts, but now when I look out at the hills I see the approach of backhoes, bulldozers and earth movers. Maybe I needed that dream.
I am a poor man, and have never had much money or influence in this world. If I walked into a planning or zoning meeting and spoke, people would say "who are you?", and I would be brushed aside. I just hope someone out there who has some influence will read this blog entry and come here and help us work to stop the rapacious slaughter of the lovely Blue Ridge hills before it is too late.
Thank you;
Alex
