In an earlier post I wrote of Google Earth, and the ability to take a close look at just about anyplace on the planet.
Have you checked that out yet? If yes, you know what I mean. If no, you have one huge surprise coming. Or is it huge?
See, here’s the deal. When you walk to the store it might seem like a long ways… even if you can get there in the car in under five minutes. It’s perspective, see?
If you drive a hundred miles and watch the nature of nature change, the lay of the land could be very different from where you started. I often wonder what it was like just a hundred years ago when the roads in the U.S. were few and far between. Or a hundred years before that when they were almost non-existent. Perspective. Perception.
Today, using Google Earth, I did a quick visit to Lop Buri, Thailand, a place in the world I know quite well–or did, at least, more than 30 years ago. It has changed a bit, but the lay of the land is still recognizable. Then I thought to visit the place my mother lives in Utah. Google Earth pulled up and away from Thailand, swung out into space–from a low orbit–and brought me to a place where I could see her house and yard. Amazing. Then I thought I’d look at a friend’s house in San Jose, California. Up, out, away, down and focus. There it was. He and his wife must have been out the day the picture was taken. No cars in the driveway.
In each case Google Earth pulled up to a high POV and swiftly moved over the busy Earth to the next spot. The trip never took more than a few seconds.
When people say “it’s a small world”, perhaps they’re referring to the wonder of Google Earth.
I’ve said before that this is an incredible tool for seeing places, getting street names and directions, being able to see the access roads to Stonehenge, or the placement–and photos–of the statues on Easter Island… the works. If there is a better geography tool for writers I don’t know of it.
But more, oh so very much more than that… to see the world in perspective. It is an unbelievable gift.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio... and isn't it time you experienced some of them?
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What a great tool for armchair travelers!
And no airport security to pass through.