The Town of Pagosa Springs government has been encouraging us to walk more. Walking is healthful. It’s non-polluting. You don’t have to spend money on gas.
At least, that’s what the government as been saying.
Fact is, when we look around, the Town government has — over the past couple of decades — required acres and acres of grass and trees to be converted into paved parking lots, in the process of approving ‘developer agreements’.
Then they’ve connected the paved parking lots by paved “walking trails”.
This problem is not unique to Pagosa Springs. Over the past 50 years, every square inch of American soil that can possibly be paved, has either been paved already, or is scheduled to get paved in the near future.
Do I sound like I’m complaining? Well, it should, because all this pavement is causing my shoes to wear out.
And buying new shoes? That’s become a problem. A real problem.
Back in March of last year, the US government started handing out gobs of free money, which they told us was supposed to stimulate the economy during a supposed pandemic. Then they did the same thing again in December. And then again earlier this month. We’re talking, like, trillions — trillions — of free dollars.
And what did they actually “stimulate”? People buying shoes.
This wouldn’t be so much of a problem, if American workers still made shoes. And if the shoes they made could actually be repaired once or twice.
But over the past couple of decades, we’ve grown accustomed to having all our shoes made in China. Made so cheaply that, when they wear out — and believe me, they wear out really fast, thanks to all that pavement — we simply throw them in the trash and buy a new pair.
Boy, was that a mistake.
Above is a photo of a cargo ship owned by Chidori Ship Holding LLC — the ONE Apus, capable of carrying 14,000 twenty-foot cargo containers — after it apparently forgot to properly fasten down its containers before sailing directly into a storm in the Pacific Ocean. The ship lost more than 1,800 containers.
1,800 containers, full of Chinese-made shoes.
Apparently… apparently… my new shoes were in one of those containers.
Do I sound like I’m complaining?
Actually, I’m not. I blame myself, in this particular instance. The poor little shipping companies are operating completely beyond their functional capacities. They’re hurrying back and forth across the Pacific as fast as they possibly can — storms be damned — and stacking the containers too high, and forgetting to fasten them down, all in an honest effort to get our shoes delivered to us before the old pair wears out.
So I blame myself.
But I also blame the Town of Pagosa Springs. They paved Paradise.
I’m not going to go through life, thinking I’m the only one guilty.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.