Winter Settling Moon
A move is a window, very much like cruising, into another world. While traveling the Panama Canal and ports in South American, Kate and I witnessed over and over again the transition in shipping from stevedores manhandling cargo, to the intermodal form of transport using sealed metal containers. These shipping containers are a ubiquitous symbol of globalization and appeared, along with the elaborate derricks and loader/unloaders necessary for their efficient use, in every port we visited.
A domestic move, from home to home, on the other hand, remains in the same historical moment before Macolm P. McLean, a shipping entrepreneur, introduced the container. In these moves each piece of cargo leaves its spot thanks to the hands of men and women (I have to assume there are women movers though I’ve not seen them.).
The cargo goes on a truck, comes off a truck moved by human hands, perhaps with the help of a wheeled dolly. This whole process is, as a result, expensive and time consuming. It’s also subject to breakdowns physical, mechanical and personal. We had all three yesterday.
Today everyone will be fresher. There will be no snow and I imagine care will be taken to avoid the ditch. Today, too, is arrival day.
