7 February, 2006:

i don't know if you remember me, but i developed a
fairly pronounced case of fresnitis over last
december, and i still have it. i am concerned it
might become chronic. there are no support groups for
this in los angeles, so i don't know who else to talk
to. please forgive my indulgence.

why, i do declare, my fresnitis has made me absolutely
FRIANT! ar ar ar....

my symptoms seem to have progressed over time,
revealing themselves ever more distinctly.
specifically, i'm now thinking i may have the east
fresno county foothills strain. at the very least i
seem to have been exposed to some sort of generalised central valley pioneer country delusional utopian miasma. you know, that quintessentially "classic california" of picturesque, green springtime hills and venerable, gnarled oaks. that breath of...well, not exactly fresh, but let's just call it OPEN air one
gets as the suburbs of mcmansions recede and you
reach...well, let's face it, you reach the ranchette-burbs of boomers and retirees who want that ralph lauren montana big sky gentleman farmer territory ahead catalog version of country living and are willing to commute. no no, it's further out than that...it's...it's the REAL country! big huge swaths of undeveloped pasture and forest! little old pioneer towns that still have character! trailer parks and wind chimes and old rusting cars in the frontyard!

and so then, in the middle of my reverie
and exploration of the yokohl valley, what do i
find...J.G. Boswell and a newly approved friggin
MASTER PLANNED RABBIT WARREN!

NO!!!!!!! this cannot be!!!! i've only just
discovered this hidden treasure, and it's already
slated to become another man's trash??? the dark
magicians wave their wands and another bucolic
farmtown turns neo-italianate-french colonial-hacienda-style malignant tumor, complete with
wal-mart target home depot ross borders mcdonalds taco bell and multiplex.

across the land, the casualties pile up.

ugh, i have to sit down. oh, wait, i am sitting down.
maybe i need to stand up! maybe i need to go to a
county board of supervisors meeting! how, oh how can
this be justified, yet further destruction of the last
beauties of old california, the further spread of this
hideous infestation, this plague of banality, even as
the center of an historic city such as FRESNO
atrophies with empty storefronts and abandoned grand deco movie houses?

there aren't even enough people to fill the ALREADY
EXISTING sprawl of 4000 sq. ft. homes packed tightly
together with good schools, churches and
convenient shopping nearby (wide streets, plenty of parking!) that blight our landscape. has anyone looked at real estate sales recently? could anyone justify building MORE of them? well, obviously J.G. Boswell can. apparently so can the board of tulare county. i tell you, it is pure, unadultered greed.

ugh, i'm exhausted. i thank you for letting me vent. perhaps fresno, for me, is like the last frontier, still unspoiled, still with promise.

signed,
Tollhouse Cookie