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When in Doubt, Do Something Beautiful
The only rational way to respond to the world these days.
I started this year half-conscious with Covid in a ghost town that was once the pearl of the Salton Riviera. There’s some meaning in this I must share with you.
The Salton Sea lies deep in the desert of south-eastern California. It was created by accident in 1905, through an overflow of water engineers were diverting from the Colorado River to irrigate farmland to support a swelling population in the West. Long before that, there were villages here.
The town outside the window today is called Bombay Beach. Sixty years ago, this was a popular weekend holiday destination for families and fashionable people from Los Angeles. You can still see it, the 50s in the air, in the antique cars and pastel colors. Now, it’s a lesser tourist destination for the edgier of the Instagram influencer crowd angling for what Pinterest tells me is called “decay tourism.” You know the vibe: abandoned buildings, broken metal structures, bright graffiti, ironic art. Post-apocalypse chic.
The Salton, having no natural water source, is evaporating slowly over time. The shoreline has receded and is covered in the bones of dead fish. The towns are mostly deserted. The desert is striking and bleak. It’s the kind of place you’d think was…
