Rural Dreams

Salt Lake City is a big city.  To a small town girl like me it is, anyway.  Different neighborhoods here have different names and almost individual identities.  I live in Rose Park, for example.  Technically Rose Park doesn't start until 2 more blocks north of my house putting me in the Fairpark neighborhood, but I identify with Rose Park much more readily.

Yes this is the dreaded 'west side' of Salt Lake.  Such a laughable myth...  I love my neighborhood.  I feel safe here.  With my neighbors I have an eclectic cohesiveness here that I didn't see when I've lived in other parts of the city or in other places.  Yesterday's mail included a little newspaper that was recently resurrected with the aim of enhancing that eclectic cohesiveness.  It's called The West View.

A couple of stories in the center spread caught my attention.  One is titled Urban Growth Garden and features a garden, and a gardener named Gina Zivkovic, located about 3 blocks east of my home.  She says, "This garden always centers me -- it's a magical place."

Making the point that the history of the neighborhood was rural and that we need to return somewhat to those roots, the article states:

"When Brigham Young and his band of nomads settled the Salt Lake Valley more than a century ago, they, like Zivkovic, were cognizant of their relationship to the earth and the land.  The pioneers turned an arid valley into a blossoming city seemingly overnight.  Yet, Zivkovic notes that more than a few residents have neglected the relationship their forefathers forged.  "Historically, all this was filled with farms, orchards, fish hatcheries," Zivkovic said."

The second article is City dwellers cultivate rural flavor in their own backyards and it begins with a few sentences I find somewhat profound.

"It begins with dirt. 

Then soon with enough labor and love seeds will sprout, plants will grow and a garden will ripen. 

Gardening is, as most gardeners see it, a way for people to reclaim their connection to food and deepen the relationships that are built around the table."

It makes me wonder anew how many of life's problems could be solved with less technology and more time outdoors.  How many of my problems could be solved the same way?