The sign was by the unpaved path at the side of what looked like a piece of land, maybe the for sale sign included the land where the trailer was, i could not tell. But from where i stood, the world was open as far as my eyes could reach all around me except for the side where the mountain range stood–that alone would have qualified as a perfect view. It was the view of all views. And the sun was setting and the dark clouds were running and there was lightning in the horizon. And i was haunted by the idea of having a piece of land with the perfect view.
Over dinner a day or two later i asked the group, three of whom live nearby on their own pieces of land. It turned out the piece of land even more perfect (it had its own access to fresh water running from the mountain) was a 6-acre piece of land whose owners need to move closer to their kids. I went to see it the following morning and the description was no exaggeration, this indeed was the most perfect piece of land. Six acres at an incline, the mountain range on one side and then endless horizons all around including a view of the most enchanting plains where the sun sets.
A couple of months ago, driving through endless plains across middle america i was thinking how could anyone any-ONE own earth? Thinking of all the sixty five million made homeless not counting the other homeless at home. Sixty five million do not know where their tired bodies will lie to sleep or if they will ever wake up on their way looking for a place to call home. If they will ever be at home in a vast vast world with so much empty space and so many empty towns. And i could not believe it that there was a system in place and very much encouraged where anyone could own a piece of earth and sometimes really really really big pieces and sometimes pieces so large they only used parts of.
For half a day i owned 6 acres. I did think of what it would be like to open it up to a small group of the i seem to have been concerned with earlier but mostly i thought of the silence and the space i could call my own. Why? I wonder, if i could afford any bit of it would i have thought of it any longer or whether i allowed it to be a dream for a moment only because i knew i could not? I first imagined just building a deck, with 360 degree views, i could move the chair with the sun or in relation to the wind. It would be nice to have a toilet and an outdoor kitchen and shower. For the cold, maybe i should build a room. What about friends, a room for friends, one more for family, a couple as studios, and bathrooms and more and more.
It will remain the most perfect piece of land. And the absolute most perfect 360 degree view.
