Free Gifts We are fortunate to have a national forest and wilderness area a few minutes away. Often in the winter i'll visit a remote site to experience the 200 year old trees and the feelings surrounding them. I've been doing this for a few years now and it is like having a stable home you can visit and reconnect with life. It is mid July now and i just got back from visiting parts of the national forest. Actually, they were brief stops, hardly enough to call a visit. At one there was a big sign saying this was a fee area and permits were needed. Below this was a huge pile of garbage from the previous visitor. About half the trees had been hacked up by hand axes. I looked at all this and then at a majestic Grand-fir towering far up into the canopy. Clearly society had a problem and was attempting a solution. I didn't like the problem or the solution. Did the forest service own the forest, the voters, the trash dumping visitors, or possibly the Grand-fir has some say in all this. This concept of land ownership is something we all accept without much thought. It comes as a big shock to native people to see people come in and own their land. A freedom is lost that everyone had assumed was safe. We still have some of other things like that. The air is still free and not appreciated. The sun shines on everyone, the rain is free to be collected. Plants, birds, and other animals still come and go in many areas. We can enhance our own feelings of freedom by appreciating and enjoying these free gifts. ---------- Jeff Owens ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Zone 7, http://www.teleport.com/~kowens Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
