So far the only difference here is the falling leaves.

It's fall now. But here in western PA, as in many other states, summer never fully arrived, blending spring into fall without much change. A few warm days that couldn't quite be called HOT sneaked through. It made a lot of us ask just where our local warming was, never mind global.

But these things revolve. They have through the centuries. Climate change is one of the few constants and nothing we do will change that.

And so the G20 is here in Pittsburgh.

Can I say I'm glad I'm not closer to it than I am? The city's been closed, to all extent. Windows are boarded by businesses afraid of protestors. No one except the "authorized" will be getting in or out for the next couple of days. I don't at all blame them. I'm also a bit concerned about the events of the next two days again being so close to home. There is too much anger here right now. I think a country that is more happy with us because of our ... lower world leadership stance of the moment ... would have been a better call for this summit. Pittsburgh? Does anyone realize how small Pittsburgh is? We couldn't even find an open hotel after a rock concert recently. Of course DC isn't big, either, but they are set up for this kind of thing. I just moved away from all that a couple of years ago and now they're bringing it here. Guess you can run but...

Photos from Pittsburgh residents in ready for the summit:
http://kdka.com/slideshows/Pittsburghers.G20.Summit.20.1205240.html

Pittsburgh was chosen because its economy has remained one of the best in the nation in recent times, and because of their "green" technology. I can't help thinking it's more green now because most of the steel mills it's known for have closed. But that's just a common person's outlook and doesn't matter much. Never mind we have the capability right here of producing steel instead of importing it. Never mind the reasons we aren't doing that. But the G20 is in Pittsburgh because it's greener.

Yes, well...

The economy has remained stable because it became flexible. It moved on to technology oriented business. Our tech pres is happy with that. Of course, tech business requires workers with education more than workers with labor skill and the willingness for hard physical work. I'm curious. Where did they go? What are they doing now? Sure, Pittsburgh is still grooving in tech, but what was the payoff?

I don't know. I've been sick for more than 2 weeks and feverish so maybe none of this is pertinent enough to blog about. But I don't value tech more than labor. I don't see how replacing one with the other is so good for us. Truth be told, I'm more attracted to and inspired by those who work with their hands in combination with their minds, who aren't glorified in business suits and briefcases but who wear real work clothes and keep more running than computers.

I guess I am a true romantic at heart. A man who looks like a man and works like a man geared in jeans and workshirt and sporting muscles earned from labor instead of a gym is incredibly appealing. A guy in a business suit clean cut coming out of a health club? Not so much.

This romantic realism writer would much rather go cruise Pittsburgh on a normal day when people are at their best doing normal everyday things than now with the "rich and powerful world leaders" cluttering up the city and barricading it.

*sigh*

Don't let them get to you, Pittsburgh. Let it blow over and move along.