Where the Skyscrapers are Silos

This is where I live, now. Its all so.....different. On the way down to Enid, OK to spend some time with Katie's sister Samantha I actually mistook a collection of grain elevators and silos for skyscrapers. For some reason, I thought Enid was a little bit on the larger side as far as towns/cities go. When I saw this cluster of buildings jutting out of the landscape my city-fied brain automatically thought, "Ohhh, that must be downtown." I actually fooled myself for about ten seconds as my brain desperately tried to make sense of these rather odd-looking skyscrapers. As soon as I noticed a rounded top on one of the buildings my brain switched gears and the urban landmarks quickly settled into the agrarian outposts they actually were.

This is where I live, in the Great Plains. The wind blows strong and often brings in heavy rains and thunderstorms. Only at school did I see lightning like this, so fierce and spectacular. Nearly every evening the clouds roll in, the weatherman warns to watch out for severe storms. The land is flat, so flat, with nothing to stop the wind. It just blows on through, sometimes barely stopping at all on its way to who knows where.

My recent trip back to Portland made me realize just how much I miss that land. Just stepping off the plan I could smell the difference. The cool, damp, fecund air; you can smell the green in it. On the way up to Mt. St. Helens, following a winding pass up the mountain, vast forests standing guarding the road on either side. These forests were completely destroyed just a few decades ago in the eruption and now they cover the mountainside like a verdant carpet, demonstrating the resiliency of life in this land. It was all so.....green. Its not as if Kansas is void of grass and trees; these things just don't define the land the same way they do back home.

To be able to so easily walk through forests, enjoying the shade of the tall, rough-barked Douglas Firs and the elegant beauty of ferns, this I desire. For now, though, Kansas is the place God has called me and this is the life I have. I make the best of it, trying to enjoy the creation for what it is. I don't know, though, if I will ever be able to get the mountains, trees, and water out of my blood. I think I may be suffering withdrawal symptoms for the rest of my life.