Alien Planet

Being that I am stuck in suburbia for awhile I decided

as a mental exercise to look at my surroundings as if

they were an alien planet.

What would be my impression? Could this be seen as foreign terrain?

The units in the center of the photograph are three

stories. We can just see the top floor peeking over the road.

The dwellings look like they were plopped into the landscape.

Each dwelling is perfectly alike.

No favoritism here.

A utilitarian common space where refuse is deposited

and some kind of sorting takes place.

All surfaces are painted grey-green.

These instruments either bring something into or

take something out of each unit. Each has a

measuring device on its face.

There weren't any people out and I found it easy to look at

the complex as if it were alien. The architecture

appeared very utilitarian and the units were identical

to the point that all surfaces were painted the same color.

Maybe the culture is concerned with uniformity and efficiency?

While the architecture was bland and gave little

information about the people, the liter seemed to stand out

against this background. An empty potato chip bag under a bush,

a toddler's sock by the side of the road, animal droppings scattered

about in the lawn and on the edges of the road, a piece of holiday

paper that is labeled 'To Eric from John and Ian", and a small melted

piece of plastic, perhaps from an electronic device, on the road.

So yeah, I could see it as an alien planet,

but it doesn't make it any more compelling

to live in.