Three Coins

R.I.F. (Reduction In Flow)
[Federal Building, Phoenix, AZ]


If you live in a big city there are a lot of distractions. Noise made by helicopters, airliners, traffic and pedestrians is everywhere. It is enough to drive you insane sometimes.

When I was young man, fresh out of college and looking for my first job in the Pacific Northwest, I lived in Portland, Oregon. I really loved this city. During those lean years, I had a copy of War and Peace. Every day (when it wasn't raining) I would walk downtown to a huge fountain complex, climb up on one of the high perches in the middle of it, sit down and read Tolstoy for about an hour each day. It was a wonderful experience, because even though I was in the heart of a modern metropolis, I could be totally alone and at peace with all the water falling around me.





Ira Keller Fountain, Portland OR


But now I live in the Desert Southwest. They have fountains here, but they aren't the same. The State Motto of Arizona is "Ditat Deus" (God Enriches). A reference to the bounty of land. This may have been true back in the 1950s, but with the influx of millions of people (many of them illegal from south of the border), the land can't provide as much as it used to.





Wesley Bolin Plaza, State Capital, Phoenix, AZ


When it comes to public works in Arizona (building, roads, bridges, etc...) they don't tend to fund things for the long haul. They build it, and when a fiscal crisis hits, they tend to yank back funding. The end result is that the public works fall into disrepair, and are often times never revived. The end result is money wasted.





City Hall, Phoenix, AZ


Such is the case with the fountains of Phoenix. They were once pretty common. Places where the madding roar of the city could be hushed by the sound of falling water and the cool mist from their spray would comfort the citizens passing by in 100 degree heat. But not anymore. They are tomb stones to miss-management and the shrinking water resources of a society that is unchecked in its growth. There are no more refuges where you can find solitude to read a book or get lost in your thoughts here.





Public Library (Main Branch), Phoenix, AZ


Although, I haven't noticed any brown golf courses around Phoenix, and the fountains in front of huge planned communities in the suburbs still seem to flow. If you have money and influence, the water still bubbles. If you just pay your taxes here, the well ran dry a long time ago.