Where I live, the ground is moving beneath our feet. It’s not supposed to do that. It keeps us uneasy, watching the road shift from one day to the next.
But still, we carry on. Building and moving, praying as we go along.
This isn’t a new occurrence; the ground movement in this area has been documented since at least 1916. We lost 40 homes in 1929 in San Pedro, California, the ruins of which we call Sunken City. That movement appears to have been triggered by the development on the cliffside.
Land movement and the landslides that often follow always have warning signs and only give the illusion of happening suddenly. In The Sun Also Rise, Hemingway wrote about a character who had lost his money, “How did you go bankrupt?" The answer was, “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
I’ve been wondering about land movement due to the frequency with which I have been driving over it, so I found this article, which breaks it down fairly succinctly.
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-deadly-dynamics-of-landslides
As Californians, we choose to live within the precarious nature of nature. Earthquakes, wildfires, drought, and bad politicians are just the cost of living in the world’s most amazing place. Our houses may fall, but we will wear shorts in February as we watch our chemically-infused sunsets dip into the Pacific.
Last year, in Rolling Hills Estates, we lost twelve homes due to a slide. Twelve families were displaced. Hearts broken. Neighbors with survivor guilt. Water and worry running down the hill to the ocean.
The Palos Verdes land movement has now affected and closed our Wayfarers Chapel, recently crowned a National Historic Landmark. The chapel was designed by architect Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, the most famous architect in history. There were 175 weddings scheduled that can’t take place there any longer. The chapel is built from locally sourced timber and stone, which hold up walls of glass. Writing that description, the chapel appears as impractical as living on a fault line may be. You can read more about the chapel here.
These cracks in the Earth serve to remind us of the impermanence of it all. Yes, we patch the asphalt, drive over it, and then fix it again, but we must remember to ask ourselves, what did we learn?
AP
Another winner here Ante ! Love you 👍🏻💯❤️❌⭕️
way to make me feel existential in less than one minute👌