I LOVE the pawn-shop tree pic. The buildings and paved-over environment seem like exactly the place where nobody would bother propping up a small tree. But somebody did...and this might come out wrong but what I love about the whole thing isn't the human-saving-nature aspect of it, it's the insanity of it.
I feel sad for the tree, frankly. But I love the picture.
As for the others: I wonder if there are regularly three consecutive unused gas pumps in urban Arizona...I know that in tiny towns like Phelps, NY, if it's daylight you will NEVER experience this phenomenon...and the USPS picture (with AT&T lurking) forces me to ask: are your post office drive-up mailboxes like the ones around here, where you have NO way of accessing them without driving over curbs or grass? Are the entrances/exits all too narrow for two cars to pass each other? ...I could think of a bunch more questions but those are enough to get the answers I seek regarding nationwide USPS parking design intelligence (which is either currently or soon to become a gov't agency, without doubt.)
Your pics are always cool, JR. Thanks for putting them on here.
When anyone, whether a business or a residence, takes the time to plant a tree in the urban desert - especially low-water, fast-growing ones like this one - and nurtures it...it is a gift to everyone. It was a 109 degrees when I took that picture a couple of weeks ago. So there is a sort of insanity in it but it is coupled with humanity. When that tree grows, it will be shade that if nothing else, cools the pavement which alone is a plus in this radiating heat concrete city.
If you look at the pumps and notice, they're numbered (this is on the odd number side) and you'll see there are 18 pumps or 9 bays of them. Quite common in urban Phoenix, fewer gas stations but much larger ones. Most of the old small ones have been torn down and "environmentally sanitized" because the tanks were leaking hulls in the hot sandy desert earth. The new mega-stations are supposedly more environmentally (and more profitable also I'm sure) sound, both with tanks and pumps.
Sigh...yes (and this is one of the worst offenders) the post offices here also require driving over a curb to access drop off mailboxes and then skidding out over gravel (no grass...it requires watering) to make a getaway. It's a universal feature of USPS design to discourage a happy and safe experience dealing with a Federal agency...
I LOVE the pawn-shop tree pic. The buildings and paved-over environment seem like exactly the place where nobody would bother propping up a small tree. But somebody did...and this might come out wrong but what I love about the whole thing isn't the human-saving-nature aspect of it, it's the insanity of it.
ReplyDeleteI feel sad for the tree, frankly. But I love the picture.
As for the others: I wonder if there are regularly three consecutive unused gas pumps in urban Arizona...I know that in tiny towns like Phelps, NY, if it's daylight you will NEVER experience this phenomenon...and the USPS picture (with AT&T lurking) forces me to ask: are your post office drive-up mailboxes like the ones around here, where you have NO way of accessing them without driving over curbs or grass? Are the entrances/exits all too narrow for two cars to pass each other? ...I could think of a bunch more questions but those are enough to get the answers I seek regarding nationwide USPS parking design intelligence (which is either currently or soon to become a gov't agency, without doubt.)
Your pics are always cool, JR. Thanks for putting them on here.
When anyone, whether a business or a residence, takes the time to plant a tree in the urban desert - especially low-water, fast-growing ones like this one - and nurtures it...it is a gift to everyone. It was a 109 degrees when I took that picture a couple of weeks ago. So there is a sort of insanity in it but it is coupled with humanity. When that tree grows, it will be shade that if nothing else, cools the pavement which alone is a plus in this radiating heat concrete city.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the pumps and notice, they're numbered (this is on the odd number side) and you'll see there are 18 pumps or 9 bays of them. Quite common in urban Phoenix, fewer gas stations but much larger ones. Most of the old small ones have been torn down and "environmentally sanitized" because the tanks were leaking hulls in the hot sandy desert earth. The new mega-stations are supposedly more environmentally (and more profitable also I'm sure) sound, both with tanks and pumps.
Sigh...yes (and this is one of the worst offenders) the post offices here also require driving over a curb to access drop off mailboxes and then skidding out over gravel (no grass...it requires watering) to make a getaway. It's a universal feature of USPS design to discourage a happy and safe experience dealing with a Federal agency...