Life after people
A few days ago I watched a little of the History Channel’s “Life After People”. I am often put off by all the drama inserted into a small bit of information on these shows, and this one was no different. A deep voice kept telling me how quickly nature would invade a house, or an entire city if people were removed from the equation. Duh. I’ve been cleaning a house that was empty for probably six months, mold, raccoons, and mushrooms were moving in. Every time I wash a wall over there several spiders come out with quizzical looks on their faces, asking what I’m doing. Mark and I spend a lot of time evicting nature. Squirrels are very interested in moving into our properties now that winter is placing its icy fingers on the land. Every homeowner knows this. What bothered me most about the program is that they had to travel all the way to the Chernobyl area to see what happens when humanity leaves. These producers obviously live in a vibrant city, all they had to do was travel to Detroit. It looks very much like the villages surrounding Chernobyl. Photographers like Lynn’s brother Ralph have documented some of the return of nature in places like Tiger Stadium. Most any walk in Detroit shows how quickly plants take over cement, Tiger Stadium and the train station are laboratory examples of this phenomenon. Anyone who has looked at foreclosed houses that stand vacant knows keeping nature at bay is a constant battle, it’s hardly news, just every day maintenance. I turned off the TV, Mark seems to think it’s stupid when I yell at it.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Deleted it on TIVO, it was too much drama for me! I will match you on the vacancies, and the propensity of overgrowth! Here it is an issue of “man – dying off” and no one caring to locate in these parts. One thing different is these places are not “tagged” or broken into and vandalized like in the big cities. They just die, get some critters living in them and then go to the wind. Nobody cares, until they cave in or fall down, then everyone is in uproars! (Hello…like broken windows and lack of paint wasn’t an eyesoar?)