Pulling up to the faded-red octagon stop sign, I happened to glance up. I saw the most awesome sight. The indigo-violet sunset floating across the horizon was truly impressive. The downy feather clouds seemed to glow with an aura of cool fluorescent hues. Three majestic blue silos completed the stunning picture.
Having lived in Ohio for 10 years, I don’t know if I’d seen a picture so striking. The particular silos were a familiar sight, something I expected to see. However, I had never observed them in such an awe-inspiring way. To me, the silos were beautiful. Standing tall, straight and true in the evening radiance, they completed the scene like a period ending a sentence.
Of course, I didn’t have my camera to capture the impression, so I stored the perfect picture of this family dairy farm away in my memory. The blue silos in the evening twilight seemed to twinkle proudly in the sunset. It made a lasting impression on not only me but also my children who were with me.
A few days later I picked up the local paper and read “Wal-mart and other businesses plan to build on the 70-acre Ety Farm.” Immediately my mind opened up the picture of the blue silos at sunset. I realized the picture in my mind would be developed – not into a photo to be hung on the farm family’s living room wall, but into a Wal-Mart.
Personally, I have no animosity toward Wal-Mart. I would just rather see the green pasture, sturdy milk barn, happy farmhouse and regal blue silos. Wal-Mart blue just doesn’t seem as honorable, stalwart or solid.
My husband says, “The farmer is laughing all the way to the bank.” I don’t know if I agree with him. He may be pleased with the fact that, yes, he doesn’t have to worry about financial affairs; we are familiar with the ups and downs of farming. Nonetheless, trading in the beautiful blue silos for the big blue box store doesn’t seem like a fair trade. I don’t care how much money is involved. I wish the developers would at least leave the silos, a memorial to remind customers of what was sacrificed for their shopping convenience and falling prices.
Where have all the blue silos gone? Now I know. They are slowly disappearing. Being taken down, removed piece by piece. In their place a different blue pops up. It isn’t standing tall like the majestic, awe-inspiring picture I saw in the twilight. It’s Wal-Mart blue spreading across the horizon, across the fields where the happy cows used to idle waiting to be milked. PD
