Clone Town Chic

Where's Johnny Appleseed when you need him? I hate large parking lots, heat sinks with not enough trees and too many blank empty spaces. As a species, we are dumb as dodos, aren't we?  The sheer ugliness ought to be enough to drive people to suicide -- or me back into my air-conditioned bunker.  But never fear -- some people do cherish unique parts of villages, towns and cities a la The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society. That's my thing, certainly.

For those who prefer ersatz chimeras with their shopping pleasures, why not try the nearby "power center" or "lifestyle center"?  Yes, mall developers have thought of everything -- even special shrubberies for the affluent browser. Pretend you're near an old town square -- though actually within easy earshot, eyesight and gasolined aroma of the gridlocked interstate and clogged side roads. The honking fumes are darling. 

No trees to shade the hot sun?  We must prefer desolation to messy nature stuff.  At. Least. While. Anticipating. Shopping.

Today's Rune: Partnership.  Happy Summer Solstice!   (Photo by ItzaFineDay 2006).