Fans.

There are many different types of fans. You have those that are fanatics about a certain topic such as baseball, poker, or an actor;  you have fans in the home that cool it to a level that is acceptable and lowers your heating and cooling costs; or you have ones that are dotting the landscape and do something--- but I am not sure what. I believe they help generate power for electricity, but for some reason I think they are run by electricity. Again, I have no idea.

A long time ago we used to have fans in our classrooms to help circulate any air that was available to be circulated. The cooler air rarely reached the back of the room, and in St. Louis it’s surprising bodies were not found slumped over at the end of class. The place to be was in front of the fans---meaning you had to sit in the front of the classroom--- but it was okay and it didn’t matter that your papers and other items blew around. You just felt better.

Then there are the fanatics; sure most people see fans as those who are in stadiums, but now with social media like Facebook and others, you are asked to become a “fan” of a brand, cause or whatever they want you to "like." It might be something important like curing cancer and/or liking Coke---or innocuous like "The Gap." The “fan” icons are popping up all over the social media sites---I guess it's a popularity contest.

There are some that I don’t understand---is it really important to be a fan of a cleaners or dog shampooing business? I guess so because they are there. I know I have become a fan of such important brands/causes as Nikon cameras, the company I work for, and a few others. As far as I see it, what the heck? As long as I am not liking or following something creepy or illegal, I am in a good position.

The other fans, or wind energy I guess you would actually call it, have become part of the rural landscape. The other day when I was traveling back from St. Louis to Chicago, I stood in a graveyard off of Highway 55; there I was, with a grouping of stones, and in the distance were these massive fans. What was interesting was how in a period of less than 50 years, this land had changed from two-lane roads (it was Highway 66) to a technological landscape. I wonder what the people who are buried just a few hundred yards away would think?

The photo above is of a dilapidated barn with one of these huge turbines behind it. Although the barn was there first, I suspect the owner of the land knew that by letting them build these massive structures, it would allow him to continue to farm his land. The good news is, I guess in the end it helps to keep the bugs away from the plants.

Thanks for stopping by.