Autumn, Arizona Style...

...For A Prompt A Day and Saturday Surprise

 

It's more like spring than fall in my area of the Southwest, but the rusty colors of autumn are synonymous with cowboy culture.  Old, rusty hinges, tools and even spurs can be found all over the desert, and it doesn't take an archeologist to dig them up.  

Standing for something, and standing up for what you believe in is also part of the character of the old west, and something that is deeply rooted within me.  A few generations ago, Phoenix shed it's rodeo culture to become a mecca for tourists.  Sadly, the trade-off for development, economic growth, and an influx of dream-seekers seems to have been a an ethical one, and now, defending the dollar is a much more common argument than defending a principle.  I'd even venture to say that for many, simply defining a principle would be too great a task, let alone defending one.  Instead of cowboys, opportunism now hold the reins.

But leaving won't make it better, and this time of the year the weather turns the hell-heat of summer into a paradise.  Besides, you don't have to look too hard to find communities in Arizona where the old west is still alive.  However, you might need a trail guide to find them.  Not so much to locate the actual geographic destination, as in the past when you needed full day, a guide and a pack animal to get where you were going, but a guide to help you discern the true spirt of west, which unless you were born to it, you'll find it difficult to pick out from among the curios and latter-day fables that are sold to tourists like snake oil cures. 

So I'm staying put, at least for now.  And you can't fight progress--even when an economic evolution devolves a culture.  Some would call it a revolution, and maybe it is.  But instead of a helmet, my hat of choice is an inverted flowerpot energy dome.   I"ll bet Devo never guessed it would become the new Stetson.

Have a great day, Everyone!

Comments

[Rosie]

Ooooohhhhh, loving the colours Barbara - especially the yellowy-green which makes things pop! The page is awesome and I really love that barbed wire stamp(?). Excellent art!
Culture vs development is so tricky, isn't it? And all the 'true' values become eroded over time. It's no wonder we have problems with our youngsters, when they just can't relate to how things 'should be'... xoxoxo

[Barbara Hagerty]

Thanks Rosie! The barbed wire is just a doodle. Much easier than getting out stamps and ink.

[Linda]

Love this!! it's different and cool, and I like your colourcombo. Your composition is super!!! loved to read your story too!!

Linda

[Autumn Clark]

Wonderful page, Barbara! Love your inscriptions too...
~ Autumn Clark
http://autumnsantics.blogspot.com/

[Cath]

Ooh, those colours are stunning - and it's collaged beautifully :)

[Heather Robinson]

I loved your post. It gave me a sense of a part of the U.S. that I don't know much about. What a fantastic interpretation of the theme.