Sprawl

It is a small wonder that things is western civilization have advanced to this fevered pitch. The combustion engine allowed people to move freely and inexpensively along the concrete veins of commerce. These roads have advanced and branched out from the main strips into huge networks of interconnected suburbs. With the middle class rapidly disappearing, I can't help but wonder if there is any future for such places. Just to get away from the negativity in the house (the holidays are here, everyone is home), I took a long walk around a development that looks to have been established in the 70's, when McCain mall was at the height of it's influence. Everybody wanted to live near the mall an it's adjacent cluster of restaurants and niche shops. Thus, yards were made smaller and most streets would end in a cul de sac, maximizing space and allowing more people to have access to the amenities that would soon encroach upon residential space. Homes that would have multiple garages to store cars, bikes, motorcycles, and the odd atv. The trappings of a consumer based society. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that that most people can be classified as consumers. It's what we do. Why cook when somebody else can clean up afterwards? Why drive into the city to shop at a department store when a lesser experience can be had just up the road? Sure it's not as nice as the one downtown, but there is ample parking and shopping carts. The shopping cart is the great unsung hero of the suburbs. Able to convey goods as well as people. I don't know of any child that doesn't like to ride in the cart. It's an American pastime, like washing your car on Sunday or looking for a place to eat after church. I'm sure the south does things a little differently, then again things are a little slower down here. Oh, Arkansas has tried to progress past the hillbilly stereotypes (I'm looking at you Cabot), but when land is in short uppl even the hillbilly can find peace in a cul de sac.