WIND NEEDED

These photographs were taken during one of my trips to Amarillo in May of 2008. I thought the first one was pretty cool, and typical of our day and age. Not only is there a wind turbine, but there is also what appears to be a cell phone tower in the background. Both are in the midst of a typical Texas landscape in the area around Sweetwater. There are miles and miles of these structures that remind me of giant, graceful, futuristic birds.

The first time I ever heard of wind energy was in Denton, Texas during the early nineties. I was sent to a country ranch to do some secretarial work for the owner. This house was magnificent. It was modeled after Tara, Scarlett's home in Gone With The Wind, and looked exactly like Tara on the exterior. The interior (what I saw of it) was very luxurious and modern. The office I worked in was on the third floor, and there was a service elevator for my use as an employee. Another served the owners. The man was rather young -- probably in his late thirties. Very professional, but rather sad. I was pretty much turned loose on the third floor, where both of our offices were located, his having a magnificent view of "Tara's" grounds, complete with a small lake with swans. I was to organize some files, tend to the fax machine, take overnights to the Post Office, etc. - there was no computer in his home. Among the files was a copy of either Time or Newsweek, dated a while back. On the cover was a photo of what appeared to be dozens of the wind generators, and reference to an article about the producers of these. I turned to the article to find that it was about the man I was working for and, I believe, his father who together started the business which constructed these massive turbines. From the paperwork I was dealing with, it seemed that not only had the business gone under, but this young man's wife had left him, taking their children with her. I felt badly for him, as everything I was hearing about energy led me to believe this was the wave of the future, and his business was just too far ahead of the times. When I lived in Arizona for a brief period, traveling to and from California I saw these up close for the first time... It seemed as though every mountain on our route between Arizona and California was covered with these giant birds. I had to videotape them when I first saw them, as I was so in awe of this technology, and I thought perhaps they were the ones the man I worked for in Texas helped to build.

I was pleased to hear from a good friend of mine who lives in Denton that as of May 2009, Denton Municipal Electric began purchasing "green energy" from a company called NextEra, which owns and operates a Wind Farm located northwest of Muenster, Texas. The company is providing Denton with renewable energy that comprises almost 40% of its energy on an average yearly basis. Not only that, but Denton Municipal Electric is also using their City of Denton landfill to produce more renewable energy by turning the landfill into gas energy, which can provide electricity for up to 1,600 homes!

I find that amazing! My friend Pam told me that her electrical bill has gone down every month since the new project was implemented last year. I don't have any idea about the costs of such a venture, but living in a small town with no choice as to an electricity provider, I think what a blessing it would be if we could provide the benefits of that technology to our citizens. As it is, most of us are faced with rising energy costs every year until - what? We no longer can afford the basics if we are on a fixed income.

I remember when, during my last marriage, we wanted to put in a solar hot water heater in the country home we were building. This was the early 80s, and we were hearing more and more about global warming, the energy crisis, and how to save on energy bills in your home. This seemed a small step toward doing something to make a home energy efficient. Until we heard the price! To install what was necessary (in those days) for a solar hot water heater it would have cost us $10,000! I think I have mentioned in the past what happened to that house. We did not finish the house. We ran out of money, but most of all we ran out of love!

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I am doing quite well on my "news fast" commitment, and I'm not nearly as anxious or agitated as I was when I spent a lot of time perusing all the news sites on the Internet. However, every few days or so I click on Google News and view the headlines. I find they aren't as "sensational" as the Huffington Post I used to read. If I have heard something on my 30-minute nightly news program I allow myself to watch, or something jumps off the screen at me that is amusing and I wish to know more (like my previous blog on Anne Rice), I allow myself to read about it. A few days ago something caught my attention. Any of you reading this who raised sons can relate to this. I thought it funny. It seems that there is an "International Air Guitar Championship" competition every year. Do you remember your boy doing this? (Photo above right.) He's playing an "air guitar". This year's U.S. National Air Guitar Champion is Romeo DanceCheetah and he looked like this in competition. (Photo at left.) You younger mothers probably will never see your boys acting this way when their favorite music comes on. The new Wii game "Rock Star" furnishes the boys - both big and little - with a mock guitar so they don't look so foolish standing there playing "nothing".. Here's what they look like playing Wii -- the real thing, no?
My thanks to "middle-aged" rock stars, Chris R., Chris G., and Mark. (I can't remember who was on drums.) These were taken at Matthew's 40th birthday party. Those guitars have no strings, guys!

Boys Just Wanta Have Fun!

Music, peace, and love,
Marilyn