I Think They Did Pave Paradise

Each generation must feel the pull of one foot stuck in the door of the past while the other is leaning towards the future. Fire, the wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, electricity and on and one until the computer and AI – so many inventions and innovations have been changing life on earth throughout history- and each generation must have intrinsically felt or been a part of those changes- wondering where the future would lead.

Aside from last minute holiday shopping, much of paradise, now paved by parking lots, remains empty with silent echoes of what once stood there. At times, on quiet morning shopping trips to Bridgehampton Commons I can still hear the voices of all of us running to the ‘Hampton Drive-In’ movie theater’s playground during intermission. Long before that stood a large open field, perhaps once used for agriculture, boasting of Bridgehampton’s ‘silt-loam’ some of the finest soil in the country.

Many drives locally and ‘up-island’ provide views of empty parking lots - once home to picturesque wetlands, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands and visions of what we have done to erase the mumblings of past life-of wildlife habitats and the beauty of creation. All in the name of progress – and yet with the transformation of brick and mortar- to online shopping- the need for these parking lots storefronts seems to be in a steady decline.

I have had this dream that once online shopping officially takes over- when we continue to feel the impact of retail apocalypse, and e-commerce dominance- Main Street America will regain its central place in our lives. The moment will arise that many, if not all of the parking lots and strip malls and mini-malls, shopping centers and outlets and big box stores will one day disappear and the earth will be restored, replanted, rebuilt and renewed into the once revered natural environments- of field and fauna, shorelines, oceans, forests, mountains and deserts - that once were fashioned as the pallet and the habitat for all of life - for all creation. Humankind will revere the earth and restore her natural beauty seeing the fragile and finite nature of the planet. There will be no longer need to subjugate the planet, the natural beauty will be restored and energy will come from the wind and water and sunshine just how I believe it was intended to be at the moment of creation.

I understand that there will be a need for warehouses-many are already in existence and use-but perhaps there is some place in the world or country that is not conducive to habitation? A centrally located place that won’t step on anyone’s toes or hoofs or paws or feathers to house the needed goods. Maybe one day it could be the moon? And Main Street America can continue to hold its importance in our communities -as our meeting place, our newspaper, greeting card and quart of milk place, our one-of-a-kind items and dinner out stops.

I know it sounds like the impossible dream but you can see the beginnings of it happening right here, right now in our lifetimes. The once popular shopping malls often stand empty and the parking lots once full of cars and shoppers are on a constant decline - while packages, and boxes and grocery bags are arriving daily on our doorsteps. Now I don’t assume the role of urban planner but that of a dreamer and a hoper and a pray-er. With the hope that the future can be brighter than anticipated-that the planet can be restored and renewed-that the beautiful earth can once again become the backdrop and framework for all of life. With the focus and significance of life being the health and wellbeing of all creation. Caregivers of humans, animals, and plants amassed in an equal role of healer of all. And should our power lie in the entire populace of the planet working together, hand in hand with this mission in mind-perhaps we could erase the imaginary borders and see only the natural ones of sea and sky and creek and river, mountain range and plateau, ocean and shoreline.

Had the original impetus of humankind been kindred spirits and living together in peace, and helping each other-perhaps these borders may never have been needed. Had the proverbial apple never been bitten perhaps we would still be living in paradise.

In our lifetimes we can’t give up hope-we can help to support those organizations and individuals that keep working toward a greener and healthier planet. We can see the earth as a holy place waiting to be restored -and that we have a voice and a choice in doing our part.