None of us are travelling for a while. But our love of place means anywhere we think about is somewhere someone has gone. Is that the case? Can I go travelling on the internet and experience the four corners of the world?
The four corners of the earth has been referenced for thousands of years - here's one reference from the Bible in Revelation 7:1:
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree."
From such mighty images, the four corners of the earth has come into our general expressions over time - the far ends of the world; all parts of the world. So even though we've left behind the idea that the earth with actual corners, we can still enjoy this image that for me references a vast blanket.
But don't think we've evolved that much. There are those who are compelled to keep the four corners physically with us. According to the Flat Earth Society, Brimstone Head on Fogo Island is one of the Four Corners. This is quite the tourist destination - many people have checked it out for their travel blogs. The Flat Earth Society's Warning Notice stands at the outlook. One can visit the Flat Earth Society Museum on Fogo Island, too. One of the tourist activities is to admire the vast night sky in such a remote place. This seems humorous to me.
The four corners are outlined at the Fogo Island outlook: Papa New Guinea, the Bermuda Triangle, Fogo, and Hydra (Greece). It is odd that the picture shows a triangle. I wanted to see four corners that stretched across the entire world - like my big blanket metaphor.
That seems to me to be the real evolution here - the four corners of the world are now tourist destinations rather than Book of Revelations destruction points.
I drive along Highway 8 and past Cherry Street all the time. The pictures below are from 2009 when there was an uncultivated field at the north-west corner and it was full of wild flowers. Now it is a vineyard, all neat and productive. We get a nice view of all the wildflowers of Ontario - purple Asters, yellow Hawkweed, and of course Goldenrod. This year's Goldenrod is abundant, with large drifts just coming into colour now. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have that surprise moment of the red-jacket bicyclist come into view again.
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