Discuss: The Nature of Walls

Hi Nic

Thanks for your comments and your book tips.  I think I will start with Mr. Jerome as I have not heard of him before.  I was looking for a new book.I have read a bit of Michael Pollan.

Thanks again.

Jon Piasecki

I thought perhaps the article was going to speak about the wall we are building along the US/Mexico border. The intent of which is to divide cultures, but too little is said about the impact on our environment this silly notion will create.

I cannot decide if this wall we’re building is futile, feudal or both.

Hi Lydia

There was some mention about that wall in the text prior to editing.  It got cut as the theme of the futility of walls like our little border fence was pervasive in my article.

I was listening to Democracy Now the other day and there was a piece about our border wall.  It turns out that when it gets to the land owned by any rich friend of Bush it suddenly stops.

I guess the illegal immigrants know not to cross onto a rich man’s land.

Come to think of it weren’t almost all of our ancestors immigrants?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Jon

Yes, all of our ancestors were immigrants and mine especially so because after 1836, the border divided my family.

And yes, in Texas they are taking land from people who do not have the power to fight imminent domain.

Wow… 

All my life I’ve been mesmerized, hypnotized by stone walls.  The shapes, the shadows, the placement that seems at once random and planned, following some higher blueprint.  As a teenager, my doodles in pen and ink were of stone walls.  My first logo was a stone wall with a single vine growing around it.  My vision for a healing center has a low perimeter stone wall and a huge stone fireplace and chimney in the main house.  There’s something so comforting about the way a stone wall measures off space.

Now, as a therapist, I speak of walls in terms of boundaries that delineate personal space and teach others how to treat us.  The higher the wall to keep people out, the more imprisoned the builder becomes.  It’s an important distinction in human interaction.

I loved your article, needless to say.  As you can see, it took me on a lovely ride.

Thank you so much.
Margie

Hi Margie

Thanks for reading and for your comments.  It is funny how walls and therapy have so much shared language and really so much in common.

Good wishes.

Jon

I love this article and discussion.  As one who helps people create landscapes to include native plants, the first thing up is a cage (open wall) to keep out the wildlife.  Still over the years I have admired the efforts of layers of stone walls.  And yes they may fail, but perhaps it is more that they merge back into the land (Darwin would say the worms are at work).  Andy Goldsworthy creates poetic but ephemereal walls (my favorite) - brief anchors in time.  My wall-to-be will include the many stones/rocks I’ve gathered to admire. I now understand the Naive American view that in essence stones are children of the earth, and sometimes I just take them farther on their journey.  They keep me grounded.

Hi Susan in Texas,

I love Texas.  I used to live in Big Bend back in the 1980’s.  I worked in the park. The place was outrageous.  The legend is that it is where the Gods dumped all the leftover rocks when they were done with creation. 
Thank you for your comments. I am glad you enjoyed it and keep on having fun with rocks.

Jon