Perfect in imperfection

One of my favorite views in the city of Medford is by the corner where Luepke Way curves a bit to the west and joins in with Wheelock Ave.

More particularly, it is the view to the east and south across the millpond and south, particularly on a cold and clear day where the late afternoon sun reflects off the copper dome of the Taylor County Courthouse or just before dawn the eastern sky glows with the pink hues signaling the start of a new day.

I have spent a lot of time in the Medford city park over the years admiring the view while selling popcorn, hanging lights, walking my dog or just chilling out on the dock enjoying a cool breeze on a warm day.

Having taken pictures from that spot numerous times, I have thought about what it is that makes it so appealing.

By any purely objective measure the eastern shore of the Medford Millpond, taken on its own, would not be what anyone could consider scenic or pretty. It is loaded down with the remnants of the once-thriving rail infrastructure. Collapsed culverts form piles of concrete and steel, other sections are overgrown with weeds.

It has been many years since the oil tanks were removed to the industrial park, but in my mind’s eye I still see them lined up south of the fertilizer plant. Green spaces, trees and pathways have grown up in the area.

The buildings themselves tend more to being functional rather than aesthetically pleasing. Not any of them on their own would grace a magazine cover or be featured on those television programs that highlight pretty areas.

Yet, taken together as a whole, the various imperfections fade away and bring about a certain kind of beauty.

This is a place where at various times people worked, played, built families and lives and where dreams faded into rubble and dust.

Perhaps what I enjoy most of the view is that it is alive.

It is not alive in the way of the rugged beauty of the shoreline of Wood Lake from the beach at the county campground in the early morning hours when the mist is rising from the still, dark waters.

Nor is it alive in the way that I get a catch in my throat when I drive on Silver Creek Road in the fall and see the bright colors of the trees lining the ridge line to the south.

But it is alive, in that people live, work and play there. It gains perfection in its imperfection. Each scar is a story to be told and each fresh coat of paint or building addition is a source of new life, hope and vitality.

The holiday season is a stressful one for many people. We seek perfection, if not for ourselves then for our children and loved ones.

We want things to be just so — from the decorations on our Christmas trees to the voices singing in carols. Growing up, I developed an intense hatred of decorating the Christmas tree because we could never achieve my mother’s artistic vision. If left to my own devices, I would never put one up.

I would rather embrace and celebrate the imperfections that make each of us beautiful in our own ways rather than have some unrealistic and soul destroying standard of beauty forced on us.

Perhaps that has something to do with why I enjoy pausing and gazing out of the work-weary hills and buildings where on a still day the sounds of life and laughter carry, amplified by the water surface.

Beauty is where we find it, and often in the most unexpected of places. I could easily list off a dozen different places that would capture the beauty that is all around us here in Taylor County.

As you celebrate the Christmas holidays, take time to find the beauty that surrounds us.

Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News.