I remember the outrage, when we lived south of Alvin outside Houston, at the proposed route for the Grand Parkway. It was coming close. People were up in arms because it would destroy the countryside, the very reason they moved there. Of course, none of them saw the irony of their complaints. Them moving there was one of the reasons the Grand Parkway was coming. Roads follow people.

It’s tempting to start talking about paving paradise, but that’s how civilization works. I have more evidence to that affect now. A parcel of land one down from my back porch neighbor is being paved and dug and constructed on. I’ve listened to the heavy equipment for months now. A multi-unit apartment complex is going up. I’m pretty sure we’ll get a stoplight at some point on Highway 290 because it will be difficult for all those people to get in and out of their homes. And one day a big rain will come and flow off the asphalt and buildings. The water will hit Town Creek. And downtown will flood. Progress.

I find it hard to be upset, however, because I bought a bare parcel of land myself to build my house back in 2007. Destroyed my neighbor’s view. Now other people are buying bare parcels of land for their houses. Fair’s fair. The population of Texas, the US and the world is booming, and we have to put those people somewhere. I guess we could stop having babies, but then who’d work in the fast food joints and what would social media do? What a conundrum. It feels like a slow motion disaster, like we’re running through rain drops.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale