Water

02023-08-27 | Book, Reading | 1 comment

SOME OF US who live in arid parts of the world think about water with a reverence others might find excessive. The water I will draw tomorrow from my tap in Malibu is today crossing the Mojave Desert from the Colorado River, and I like to think about exactly where that water is. The water I will drink tonight in a restaurant in Hollywood is by now well down the Los Angeles Aqueduct from the Owens River, and I also think about exactly where that water is: I particularly like to imagine it as it cascades down the 45-degree stone steps that aerate Owens water after its airless passage through the mountain pipes and siphons. As it happens my own reverence for water has always taken the form of this constant meditation upon where the water is, of an obsessive interest not in the politics of water but in the waterworks themselves, in the movement of water through aqueducts and siphons and pumps and forebays and afterbays and weirs and drains, in plumbing on the grand scale.

Holy Water, from the book The White Album, by Joan Didion.

1 Comment

  1. anne

    .
    yes…living in Dry area’s would make one obsessed with water ! Access and clean water issues are a big deal.

    Currently, in BC- forest fires are raging , people losing homes – just terrible. Not even sure heavy rainfall will even help.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Archives

Images

Concert Dates

Thu, May 30 2024 in Phoenix, AZ
@ MIM

Fri, May 31 2024 in Tucson, AZ
@ Rialto Theater

Sat, Jun 1 2024 in Sedona, AZ
@ Sound Bites

Sun, Jun 2 2024 in Sedona, AZ
@ Sound Bites

Social

@Mastodon (the Un-Twitter)