Shiny-to-Slimy

---01.27.2000---

I hadn’t noticed before how our culture sometimes villainizes things that are essentially natural: slimy things, things with roots and tentacles that grow into crevices, and invisible things that make noises in the dark. It appears to, by and large, exalt the bright and shiny. Wouldn’t it be worth tipping those scales a bit in the other direction?

We need slimy things, and things with roots and tentacles. They all have an important role to play in the grand scheme of things. I’m not suggesting turning around and villainizing the bright and shiny. But I think it would be nice if they didn’t absorb money, materials, fuel, and talent, last for a couple of years and then stubbornly refuse to decompose (and feed small, slimy things) once they’ve been thrown away. Everything they absorb, they appear to take to the grave.