VANDALIA

[sidhe_faerie]

CHARACTER: Byrdie

A/N: This is a conversation with an old mountain woman.
(muse_prompt photo f 6/8/12)

WORD COUNT: 418

 

VANDALIA

Vandalia is my home. It’s a misty ageless land where nothing seems to change. Not far away is the hustle and bustle of the modern world. To the young ones of Vandalia, the outside world is the place to be. That may be the reason that traditional craftsmanship is dying here.

 

There was a time when a family used their old clothes to make a quilt for a cold winter. Quilts now come from a large chain store and they are made in places where our brave boys went off to war. The old clothes are donated to the ‘less fortunate’ or whoever shops at those dirty dingy thrift stores.

 

Things are different now. Gardens have more flowers than food. Virtually no one knows how to even begin to can or freeze their own food. Supermarkets bring in everything we need from far away.

 

Everything seems so far away. The mountains that shield us from storms and the worst of the weather also become our prison. The boundary is where dreams and wishes meet reality.

 

I shouldn’t make this seem so gloomy because it isn’t as bad as all that. We have beauty here that is virtually untouched by man. Wild woods and raging rivers are our greatest treasure.

 

The wildlife here is plentiful and not that shy. A black bear walking though your yard on a hot summer’s day to get to the creek is not that rare of a sight. Wild turkey and deer are in my yard often as well. They are treasures too

 

Who am I you ask? I’m Byrdie. I’m a mountain woman with a link to the past and a eye to the future. You have to keep an on eye on it or it will destroy us and our treasures. 

 

Everyone wants progress but do they understand what progress really is? It takes before it gives. It takes our resources, our time and what precious money we have here before we see anything. It lays waste to what was a beautiful forest or a fast flowing stream. The price is more than what can be measured in dollars, time and resources.

 

I have been on that soapbox all my life and I will fall off it when I die. Nobody will notice because they don’t want to hear what I’m saying. It’s a shame really but that’s how it is.

 

I see you need to rush off now so I will see you again I hope but for now take care.