A Moment to Reflect

It's sometime past midnight and the heat plus a slight upset stomach has kept me from sleeping, so I thought I'd walk it off. Slipping quietly out of the rig, I find it is already a bit cooler as a slight breeze flows past. The Sorensons have a long driveway so I've decided to walk down to the paved road and back. From the top of the hill I can see and hear the big rigs in the distance as they race past the far end of the drive. There isn't a moon out but the stars overhead add to the burning gas flares to give ample light to see my way. Just moving around helps settle my stomach.

Walking along in the semi-dark also gives me some quiet time to reflect on the past week. The bearing repair cost a lot more than it should have due to the local NAPA outlet jacking the price 175% over NAPA list with a cavalier  "take it or the road" attitude. The repair shop guy could have easily ordered it much cheaper elsewhere had he recognized opportunist slime-balls, but we've now waited nearly a week for this bearing, it's already installed and we need to get going. We returned the spare we had ordered and will pick up another along the way.

Looking out as I walk, I gaze at the bright flares on the stacks (burning off a reported 25% of collectable natural gas) as they illuminate the night sky. In addition to the noxious fumes  they produce in the air it seems to me a big waste of energy. Literally "energy to burn". We've also noted that many drivers of large trucks around here just keep their engines running when they duck into the stores or businesses. We still can't understand that.

The many bright lights of the nearby processing plant reminds me of a space port, and it will soon be joined by another presently being built. All within clear view of the Sorenson's home. The contrast to the traditional farming life that oil is replacing couldn't be more stark, and reminds me of the days I just spent helping rake hay and herd cattle. I really sympathize with any farmer who is trying to make a living while being bulldozed off their land and having their groundwater tainted by oil drilling. We Americans allow big money to be the decider. So what's new? I think about this every time I pull up to the gas pump, ...hypocrisy withstanding.

As I crest the hill coming back to the house, the drone of a thousand crickets tries to compete with the roar of venting gas from a nearby rig that has just come online. The warm night breeze dances around me again as I look back up to the sky just in time to witness a large 'shooting star' scribing its straight, white trail between the stars. Its short display is a reminder of our ephemeral existence here on earth. Gone in a flash. We are harvesting the eons of what has gone before us with every gallon of oil we pump and minute of gas we burn. And yet we are so transitory and short sighted that I'm sure humankind's contribution to the big picture may not even be recordable a million years from now. Or less.

Oddly, what comforts me as I climb back into bed is the thought that the taint of humankind will be cleansed by time. In the long run it won't matter at all. But likewise, this lends even more urgency to continuing our travels so that we may meet more wonderful people like the Sorensons and see the beauty that still exists in the world – while we still have a chance.