Day 251: Views

I was born in West Texas and worked there for 19 months in the early 80s.

There's a stark beauty to that part of the world. The flatness of the terrain makes the sky seem enormous. But on balance I don't care for it.

I think it's important to get some feedback from your natural surroundings. It's one reason that I'm drawn to settings that have a view. You need inspiration.

This small upstairs corner room has two windows. The one behind this computer screen faces north and looks uphill. The adjacent home is very nice, it has a sort of "Italian villa" style to it that is appealing. The entire homestead sits on a lot of at least an acre. Were it not for the looseness with which the owners regard their responsibilities regarding their four dogs, it'd be almost idyllic. The house across the street from them is a majestic mansion that has been under restoration for well more than a year. It's a nice 'hood.

The window to my left faces west. With the leaves gone for winter it provides a great view of the dominant original building on campus. Looking south you can see the rolling mountains unfold... on clear days like today the visibility must be at least five miles.

I've been able to find some pretty nice views over the years. My favorite was probably California... I could see the ocean from three rooms. The first night I slept there I was awakened by the sound of waves, at first not knowing what they were.

A friend posted recently a picture of the view from his place in the upper midwest. It looked like Minsk. Or Sarnia. Not awesome. I need the stimulation that a good location provides.

The first time I ever went to Montreal I was stunned when I saw a homeless person who had notched a place out of the snow near a less wind-exposed nook at the Bell Centre. It was even more shocking than seeing the hundreds of people living in cardboard boxes on Skid Row in LA. Or the guys sleeping on benches in Santa Monica.

It gets pretty chilly in LA, but I think if I was a homeless guy living in a snowbank in Canada, I might be tempted to start walking west. Even the homeless can have a view.