America and her spacious skies

I teach foreign languages, so I spend a great deal of time talking about life in other countries. I show pictures of beautiful places and share information about cultures that are very different from our own. There is almost always a student in the class who raises his or her hand and asks “Mrs. Jarman, why are you still living in the U.S.? Why don’t you move to Europe?”

I guess it’s because I love all of the land that is the U.S., “from the mountains to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam.” I love the wide open spaces that are part of my home. What many of my students do not realize is that the large majority of Europeans live in apartments and in cities. The United States is a sizeable country; we’ve got lots of space. There’s plenty of room to spread out. Of course, that space has facilitated urban sprawl, but it sure is nice to stretch out.

There are times when I like to ride to Harpers Ferry or up to Greenbriar State Park and just take a nice quiet stroll, hike a trail, or wander down the C & O Canal towpath. I like deserted, quiet streets. It’s peaceful and pleasant.

My daughter and son-in-law live in The Netherlands, one of the world’s most densely populated countries. It’s difficult to find deserted, quiet streets to stroll down. There are parks and many beautiful places, but solitude can be difficult to come by.

I love to drive down highways in Arizona and Nevada and to be in the only car on the road. I like to roll down the window and sing at the top of my lungs and know that no one will hear me. Sometimes I’ll pull over on the side of the road and gaze out at the wide open space, the beauty of the mountains and the red sky as the sun sets over the peaks. I love those spacious skies!

When we were living in Texas years ago, I used to love to drive the car on the beach. We could sit out on the roof of the car and watch the waves roll in. Many times it was quiet and peaceful because we were the only ones on the beach!

I like big parking lots with lots of space to park my car, neighborhoods with big yards, school yards with lots of sports fields and playgrounds. I like space and I am blessed to live in a country that has so much wide open, beautiful space.

America, the beautiful!