My wife and I spend a couple of weeks every summer in a gated community on Monterrey Bay. The family beach house is surrounded by very nice people. Most are retired. Much of their time seems to be spent playing golf, tennis or other activities in which we do not indulge. Yes, there is The View but how long can you bay watch?
I decided to interview my neighbors here in Bahiavista. To make things interesting, I started with the same question,
"Given that the sea level is rising, Congress can't do squat, and many people in our county lack adequate food, housing, and medical services, which would you choose, the end of capitalism or the destruction of the planet?"
I first knocked on the door of Kiki and Konrad Yelvington. These two had a Buick dealership in Phoenix (where it's 112 degrees today) before moving here where the temperature never rises above 70.
I quickly got around to the big question which surprised them a bit. Kiki asked if I was serious and Konrad wanted a third choice. "No", I said, "Our country and the planet is in big trouble. What we've got doesn't seem to offer the necessary solutions".
While they pondered the question I could see endless fields in the distance. Dozens of workers were hunched over as they picked strawberries. They had no time to think of golf or tennis.
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As you probably guessed, everything but the first paragraph is fiction. Our annual west coast sabbatical makes me think more about ourselves, the planet, and the pickers next door.
The views are incredible and I never tire of the bay watch.
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