What I Don't Get

I was driving to work yesterday and I was diverted to a route I don't usually take, traffic was rather heavy, which gave me a chance to look around and really take in my surroundings. I was astonished! Buildings going up everywhere...strip malls...subdivision. Along the with these new buildings, I saw stores closing, empty retail shops, houses for sale, empty houses, etc. My question is why?


Why are we clearing lots, cutting down trees, and building so many more strip malls and houses? Are there really that many new business' that will fill these new buildings? Can we not use an existing building? Buy a house that is for sale rather that buying a "new" house?


What is going to happen to all of these empty building? Are we going to tear them down? Take the land back over for trees and grass? I think no! Yet our town, city, state and country is becoming one huge concrete world. We are on our way to becoming on huge Manhattan....spread out instead of upright.


I know this topic is not relevant in today's times, it doesn't deal with whether or not you like our President-elect or our current President, it doesn't deal with our current economic condition (or does it),and it does not deal with any of the crap we hear on the news daily. However, it does stress me beyond belief.


Even though I am from California (which no one can seem to believe that there are small towns there, or at least used to be) and I live just outside of Atlanta (another major city) I do not enjoy "big city" life, I am a small town girl at heart and we are running out of small towns. This is not just from population explosion either. I moved here 9 years ago, but my family has resided in Paulding County since pre-Civil War days (not that I remember those days as I may be old, but not that old) I have been visiting this area for over 30 years and I have seen the gradual growth and fast expansion over the years and it breaks my heart. When I moved here, I chose an area just outside of Hiram and even then no one knew where Hiram was. If you blinked, you missed it. Now this city has grown up....very developed. I shake my head and mend my heart every time I drive through there and now empty buildings are about to line Hwy 278 as 2 stores of less than a year old will be closing.


Now that I have rambled far longer that I had intended to I just wonder if there is anyway to recycle these buildings? We recycle our plastic, our glass, our cans, our papers, etc. Is there not any company or person out there that will recycle these empty buildings or homes? Why as Americans must we always have bigger, better, newer, more....add anything else you can think of? My heart breaks for the lose of fields, trees, grass....nothingness!