I grew up on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. It is a fact I claim proudly. There is absolutley no shame in a middle class upbringing and the people on the west side are real and honest. There is little pretense or pomp; just ordinary people living ordinary lives. I have moved out of West Valley at various times throughout my life--Logan, Bountiful, Toronto--but now I am back to my roots. It is good to be home.
One of the advantages of living in West Valley is being able to drive home from Salt Lake on the 201 freeway. If you avoid rush hour, and for now can ignore the construction, it is a good way to end the day. On that road, just before 5600 West, there is a laundry soap factory. You can't see it from the road. You wouldn't even know it was there, except for the smell. If you drive with your windows open, a nameless joy in itself, you can smell the fresh clean scent of laundry detergent filling the air. It is strongest on summer evenings when the heat from the day starts to cool and the wind blows across the valley in soft breaths. The sun sets behind the Oquirrhs on a gold hinged door whose glass shows blue indigo and red on the orange stained sky. Those colors, the smell of clean laundry, the cooled heat on my face and arms, the wind moving through my hair makes me happy about where I came from. It also teaches me all the advantages of open windows--you never know what will be carried in on the breeze.
I love moments like that. Small moments in the midst of a harried day.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of the early-mornings required for work, but when I merge onto 215 at 3500 each day, the sun's first whisper is rising over the eastern mountains and for that one single moment in my daily commute I feel a sense of bliss. It is something so pure set out against a world so foul.
I now must drive by the 201 laundry soap factory.