After many years of alternating our time between our domicile on the upper west side of Manhattan, and our country home (currently, Kingston, N.Y.), we have come to realize, a subtle, but, discernable, difference in personal mindset, and general perception associated with each, respective residence.
The many, diverse benefits of living in a large metropolis like New York City, include convenient access to places of diversion like, movies, theater, museums, parks, and as well, to shopping for food or clothing. Socialization with friends and family is facilely accommodated as are services when needed. There is a popular, universal sense of shared residential concern regarding, weather, traffic, cost of services, travel and other matters such as pollution, city cleanliness and crime. Big cities seem to be residentially appropriate for the greater amounts of human population. An individual’s life, however, conceivably, can be lonely in the large “beehive” Metropolis, but such condition would likely to be due to a nuanced feeling of anonymity, or inconsequence. We, fortunately, are quite comfortable, being part of the city society.
In addition to our adjustment to the lifestyle of big city dwellers, we have always had an abiding love for the countryside and accordingly, enjoy our frequent residence at our country home. The latter is adjacent to and part of a verdant, forested area, abounding in birds, deer, bears and little woodland critters. In contrast to the concrete and brick Metropolitan bee hive, our country home is surrounded by forest, flora and majestic rock outcrops.
Kingston, N.Y. can permissibly, be described as “small town,” in population. However, it is blessed with a natural, unspoiled, seemingly unlimited, woodland beauty and natural forest environment. We have learned that (for us), it is possible to, simultaneously, be satisfied, and accommodated, big city dwellers and, as well, ardent lovers of the rural environment, its fauna and flora.
Our present writing, however, comprises an attempt at explanation of our personally, nuanced perception and responses, to events, as they occur, which seems to be dependent upon our residential venue at the time (i.e., city or country). It, does, at times, however, seem that as humankind, our suitable and appropriate residence is with the many others of our evolved species, residing in the city, and that we occupy the status of mere “squatters” on country land; which, for eternity, has been the natural property and exclusive abode of the local fauna and flora. This personal sense of propriety may be confirmed by the demonstration of humankind’s numerical predilection, generally, for city dwelling. In short, it is our view that mankind’s natural inclination to live in society with a sufficient population of others renders him an unnatural dweller of the forest or prairie. It is this learned mindset, we feel, that causes us to vary our reactions to stimuli, relative to our city apartment dwelling or our country home.
Last week, in Kingston, while in the process of procuring an item from our bedroom, we were shocked and surprised to see, through the glass door, a very large, dangerous and beautiful, black bear, climb over the banister of our rear wooden deck. The unusually large beast (for a black bear), seemingly, with a sense of entitlement, entered the raised deck and violently, swiped down and broke our bird feeders and trashed two attractive planters.
Notwithstanding our fearful witness of this despoliation, it surprised us to note, that our sole reaction to such aggressive acts of trespass and damage, was, solely, that of fear of the dangerous bear. For a few moments, we were puzzled as to our complete lack of angry response to the aggressive and unprovoked damage perpetrated by the big brute. We then, suddenly, recalled the lessons of the tragic saga of our pear trees, which occurred several years ago at our then, country home, in Kent, Connecticut (the subject of a prior essay) and, thereby, reestablished and confirmed our calm and accepting reaction.
The historic facts, were as follows: After more than a decade of disappointment, our two pear trees, mercifully, flowered and, at long last, rewarded our years of impatient and frustrated waiting, by, at last, bearing fruit. We purchased long-handled fruit-picking devices from the garden outlet, on our way from the City to our Kent country residence, only on arrival, to our shock and tragic dismay, to discover that beavers from the adjacent pond, (since the previous weekend when celebrated the eternally, awaited appearance, of the green fruit and excitedly decided upon its beneficiaries), had completely, chewed down the trees.
Somehow, at that moment, an epiphany occurred such that, after our initial spontaneous expression of shock and disappointment, a calm period ensued, overruling our previous response and in which we arrived at a rational understanding of what, in essence, was, in fact, a natural event, thus, overruling our thoughtless anger and disappointment. The remembered, corrective insight, relative to our pears, was, in fact, identical to our developing, understanding and calm perception of what might, otherwise, unjustly, be perceived as an “outrageous, trespass” by the huge, black, Kingston bear.
Like the beavers who, appropriately, reside in the woodland pond, the black bear, exclusively and naturally, lives his life and makes his home, in the forest. In the forest’s natural environment, all humankind is, merely, visitors, or conceivably, interlopers. The perception that the denizens of Nature are our friendly neighbors, is foolish and useful, only in children’s literature or the doggerel, regularly, found in Hallmark, greeting cards. Analogously, and in fairness, the black bear or his beaver cousins would, no doubt, find it uncomfortable at Yankee Stadium.
The humanoid, formalized, legal ceremony, referred to, as the “real estate closing,” the ritualized dance, which recognizably, affords exclusive ownership of an identified, parcel of real estate to a specified purchaser, together, with its paperwork, lawyers, professional surveys, notarized documents, deeds, and mortgages, seems to be of scant interest to black bears and beavers. Certainly, we would think, not to snow geese who, at will, inhabit the entire planet.
-p.
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