A City For Thee And Not For Me

While growing up I was very fortunate to have parents who enjoyed doing outdoor activities and were avid about camping, fishing, boating, pic-nicking and hiking in the mountains of Washington and Oregon. But city life was never an appealing one to me like living at Gallaudet University in the middle of Washington D.C. while as a student. Despite that I have always been grounded on wanting to live in less populated areas close to mountains. I actively avoid any semblance of city life. Of course, living in the middle of Washington D.C. while as a student at Gallaudet University wasn't exactly "clean living" for me.

I flew into D.C. earlier this year to attend the first ever blog/vlog conference at Gallaudet University. I was once again facing the same familiar feeling of crowdedness, the pollution, the creeping stress, the traffic jams, the obnoxious people, the idiot and careless drivers, the run down DC neighborhoods I had to drive through and even through the more recently renovated places that looked even better the last time I was there. I didn't mind visiting Gallaudet University again since my trip was completely paid for by the Coalition for Critical Inquiry. I also had a sense of duty to attend this important and technologically historical event that would take place at Gallaudet University. And so that morning around 7:00 AM I drove up to the all too familiar front gate of Gallaudet University. Two security guards were there at the kiosk. I asked where can I park my rental car and explained my reason for the visit. No signing, of course since I used my voice and the guards didn't realize I was an alumnus of Gallaudet University while I was listening to him. No problem. He told me where I can go and I quickly said my thank you with no interest on chit-chattin.

I began my walk around the familiar campus from the new parking lot at the north end of campus next to the Appleby building. It was positively cold that morning, well below freezing with a slight nippy wind just enough that I wanted to shove my cold hands into my warm coat pockets even though I had knitted gloves on. And so I walked around for about 40 minutes checking out most of the familiar buildings on campus. They were mostly closed or empty, so to speak. It was still early that Saturday morning and I was sure students were still sleeping in. The campus was lonely and desolate looking with very few people walking about and not the familiar hustling and bustling of students, staff and faculty that I was so used to while as a student from 1989 through 1991. After a bit of walking around I stood not far from Benson Hall in the cold wind thinking out loud that the early risers must be inside at the Student Academic Center or Student Union Building. And so I decided to check it out before the 9 AM vlog/blog conference.

Much to my pleasure and surprise, I saw how big of a transformation the Student Union Building had undergone from the once familiar but drab place to a robust and engaging one where students and faculty can congregate and socialize quite comfortably. Maybe too comfortably. I entered through the main floor of the SUB building next to Ely Center. As soon as I entered I could smell coffee being brewed that morning and so I followed the pleasant aroma. It was the Coffee Bar Commons in the SAC area. Nice. I nodded my head in agreement. I looked around and noticed that more people were starting to trickle in and I suspected that their first stop was to make a beeline to the coffee bar. Naturally. I walked around some more. Went upstairs. Looked. More new stuff. I was trying to absorb and remember all the new details for the first time. Went back down stairs and looked around more closely through the windows of the computer lab and saw the rows of computers with several students going about their business like fishes in a fishbowl.

Next stop was Ely Center. I walked through the double doors and through the familiar glass-enclosed walkway. I looked over to my right and then left and then looked down at the ground expecting to see something that ought to be familiar to every students who have ever walked through there. Yep. Dead birds. Five dead birds to be exact with three already well decayed to the bones and two more still preserved in the cold. I then wondered while I was counting the carcasses on exactly how many birds were killed since I left Gallaudet 15 years ago back in 1992 after my graduation. Were 300 birds killed? 400? 500? When will Gallaudet University finally add some bricks and replace the glass enclosed walkway for a change? I'm sure it's a joy to walk through that walkway everyday with the sunshine peering through the clear, clean windows on both sides of the walkway while seeing the accumulating dead birds on the ground and roof partition with their broken beaks and bones scattered about near to the glass windows. No matter. Some things will never change. Birds will still try and fly through the clean windows not knowing they're there. And Gallaudet will still not cover up completely the windows that would otherwise prevent more bird deaths. Not that I really care but it's enough to make me wonder after all those years.

I continued my walk through Ely Center. The building hasn't changed one bit. It is still dark. Seemingly claustrophobic, maze-like hallways that have that same musty smell. It was a dull, boring and a lifeless building compared to the new SAC/SUB building. I walked around and saw some posters and notices on tack boards which made the place feel like I was walking through some old dinky high school building.

Enough of that.

I turned around to check out the lower floor of the Student Union Building. I bounded down the stairs half expecting to see the old bowling alley. Nope. Gone. Where did it go? It was replaced with a sports bar called "Rathskellar." Looks like a cool place. Peeked in for a moment. Looks very "university-like" with the "rah rah" like environment to it. A few televisions were there. I turned around and noticed the new food court, the Commons and the exhibit area. The place was open, airy and much brighter this time. A much better place to congregate, obviously so.

After the vlog/blog conference I met and chatted for about an hour with some familiar and new people including my former and well liked chemistry professor, Dr. Michael Moore, while we discussed the events that occurred during the Galluadet protest a few months earlier. Chris Heuer was there with us three chatting away. Afterwards I went over to Kellogg Conference Center with Kristi Merriweather. We chatted along the way until we got inside. I briefly looked around. It was my second visit to the Kellogg building. Nothing has changed. Met up with a few more familiar faces while Kristi and I chatted about the conference. Looked at my watch, it was time to go. I had to go back to my sister's house for a much anticipated dinner engagement since I hadn't seen my sister in several years after her return from her tour of duty in Germany. I said my good byes to Kristi and a few others and said, "See ya the next time."

I walked out to my rental car that was parked on the 2nd level of the parking garage. I got into my car and drove out of the campus of Gallaudet University and then stopped at the nearest gas station off of Florida Avenue right across from the university. I got out in the cold, paid for my gas and stood there while I pumped gas into my rented vehicle. While I was standing there I shifted my head around to observe the familiar surroundings I've come to know so well. I could hear an ambulance wailing off in the distance. I could hear the rush of cars going by. I stepped away momentarily from the pump and took a quick sniff leaning into the prevailing, cold wind. I frowned. It didn't smell "clean" to me. It had that "city smell" with the asphalt, buildings, and the emission exhaust and whatever artificial smell that would linger in the air. And then I heard the "click" of the gas pump. The gas tank was full. I put the gas cap on and quickly drove off to my sister's house some 50 miles away in Virginia. Finally, I was out of the congested Washington D.C.

My sister's place was a bit better but it still had the traffic and congested feel where ever I drove. Thank goodness it was a Saturday and not during the work week, else I'd have an ulcer fit. Realizing how lucky I am to live out in the country, in a small town with a population of 30,000, I already knew the advantages of living out in the more open and less populated area than to live the life in the city or suburbia. The country environment is much more cleaner. There is little or no traffic jams to speak of which means less air pollution and wasteful expenditure of gasoline and energy compared to those who live in the city. City life is more stressful. More grime. More people. More nutballs. More of everything else that's man-made now crumbling. And more nonsense.

Last week while working in the outdoors during a field visit inspecting a water pipeline up along near a mountain ridge line at over 6000 feet my coworkers and I ended the survey by taking a short discussion break before debarking back to our office 50 miles away. The discussion soon revolved around one coworker who used to live near D.C. He once enjoyed living in D.C. and discussed Crystal City, VA. A place I was already familiar with but not to my other co-workers. He then described how one tall building in Crystal City houses both company offices and condos for workers. And explained about the conveniences of how residences can go underground and enter a whole different city below where people can shop for food, buy all kinds of items and get medical checkups without ever touching a car. I said to him that all sounds nice but they are still living in a city and living out in the country beats that hands down. He agreed to a point when he considered the extra resources it would require to manage a city, its infrastructure and the ungodly amount pollution and waste it produces. Cities require greater resources to maintain . They require more energy and generate far more pollution than any small town. From a green environmental standpoint these small, distant towns all across the western United States and elsewhere are virtually "green communities" compared to larger and excessive cities which are nothing more than vast polluting giants with clogged highway arteries filled with pollution exhaust that would produce those sometimes deadly brown smog or air pollution alerts. Yet my one way driving commute to work takes only 5 minutes over 4 miles while in D.C. commuting averages about 34 minutes of commute time according to the latest U.S. Census survey. No thank you.

But here's the funny thing. I get cackles of glee from a few Deaf people about me living out in the "middle of nowhere" in southern New Mexico. And that's fine. Let them be the polluters that they are. It's undeniable that city dwellers are practically polluters in their own right no matter how "green" they are. They are one of the many sources that contribute to these pollution problems in cities and outlying areas. Let them enjoy and drown in their own pollution at the same time. The traffic jams. The exhaust emissions. The stink. The higher crime rate. The soul-less skylines. The crowd of people. The morons, yahoos and idiots that pervade the place. Or the 1 to 3 hours sitting in cars trying to get to work, get food or go places every single day. But I'll take my country or small town living over city living anytime of the day. And to boot, I get paid to hike, bike, and drive my 4 wheel drive work truck up on the mountains and at the same time get to see wildlife almost every time I go out. Not to mention I get to breathe in the clean air. Feel the fresh breezes up on ridge tops. See the snowcapped mountain tops as I drive or hike around. The pile of winter snow. The rushing of creek water. See the changing colors of leaves on Aspen trees turning into a blazing bright yellow that paints the side of the mountains like a work of art with a splash of yellow strewn about. Or experience the feel and sway of a fire lookout tower while standing on a catwalk that surrounds the "cabin" some 110 feet off the ground at the 9000 feet elevation ridge top. And soak up the surrounding mountainous beauty that only a few people are lucky enough to experience as I have done a few months ago while taking a 360 degree photo shoot as part of my watershed photo monitoring effort. One of the many jobs that I do while working outdoors. It is part of my job. And yet there are six more fire lookout towers to go out 9 in all. Six more places to add to my experiences of the great outdoors at work and play. A city life may be for thee but it is certainly not for me.


Wait for "City for Thee and Not for Me - part II"