Footprint
By C. Derick Miller
Head Writer
7.8.21
I was born and raised in a small (ish) town an hour outside of Dallas where you absolutely must own a car to get from point A to point B. After visiting New York City a few dozen times over the last decade, I decided that I wanted to live in a place where I could leave less of a footprint on the planet by taking public transit. I married and settled in Dallas. Don’t get me started on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system…
There is a shinier side of that coin, though. I am able take light rail all the way from my condo to the Your Stories On Video office! I can also walk outside the building and hear my favorite hockey team losing when the season begins in October. I guess hearing bad hockey is better than hearing no hockey at all.
My most recent client at Your Stories On Video was extremely concerned about the world she is leaving behind for her children and grandchildren. She was curios as to whether or not they would live long enough to be her current age. It saddened her deeply. I understand her predicament.
I can’t help but wonder how many more of my clients in the near future will have similar concerns. I’m a father of adult children and have multiple grandchildren myself even though I’m nowhere near the age of my clients. What can I say? I started young! Regardless of age, I still wonder about these exact same things! What kind of world am I leaving behind for my children and grandchildren? Not only do I wonder if they will all reach the ripe old age of reason before the planet gives up on all of us, but I wonder if I will get there as well!
My client brought up the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and the strange weather patterns that have been witnessed all over the world. Did we, as humans, do something to change all of this or is this something the planet has done on its own? It’s a serious question and one that several politicians use as a platform during elections. How many more years will it be until the planet Earth shakes us all off into oblivion like the fleas we all pretend not to be? Yes, I know those words may be a little harsh for some of you but…
Reality is harsh. Perhaps if we all stopped sugar coating all the bad things coming our way, we’d do more to help prevent it? Yes, regardless of which side of the fence we sit on, at some point, this planet is going to get really mad at us. Who knows? Maybe she’ll stop speaking to us altogether!
I can’t tell the future, and neither can anyone else reading this. (If you can, contact me directly. We’ll go to Vegas. My treat!) All I know is that I, as a younger person, don’t remember crazy weather, wildfires everywhere, and droughts in some of the greenest areas of our country. Is it because of the (dreadful to speak of in certain circles) climate change or is it that we weren’t all privy to instantaneous information during my youth? I really can’t say for sure, but it scares me to think about it all.
What kind of world are we leaving behind for our children and grandchildren? This is a valid question worthy of an answer and one heck of a discussion topic during a Your Stories On Video interview! Feel free to get in touch with us and, who knows, perhaps we can discover the answers together…
It’s worth a try.