The Great Earthquake of Toledo, Ohio, and the Ensuing Fire that Never Was, but may as well have been, as set in the late 20th Century

When I look at old pictures of downtown Toledo, listen to the stories, consider the memories, I become morose.  I think of the once vibrant life, the living, pulsating heart of a central crossroads of America, countered with the decaying official attitudes, the urban denial of the interstate highway system, the clear cutting of our historical central business district, the saturated bombing of the very civilization our parents once knew.  What we were able to avoid during WWII on this continent, has since been achieved by our shortsighted city fathers, on the backs of the very citizens they were sworn to protect.  Our heritage has filled our landfills.  To cherish the lives of our ancestors we obliterate all notions that they ever existed and create sterile concrete bunkers without the soul of a lowly earthworm and predestine our succeeding generations to await the great earthquake and fire that they will never believe hadn't already happened.

from August, 2001

Dennis Doblinger