Here, I observe the destructiveness of change, swift and ruthless to some things our new civilization stopped caring about.

I see the dust from a crushing of metal and wood once assembled with care and love. Now, this structure once proud, crushed by monsters with mighty jaws that mash and crunch.

For many months, I walked by this empty building on Olive and Boren, next to the Convention Place Tunnel Station in downtown Seattle. It was a corner spot, two or three stories tall, with blue triming and giant painted birds upon one side. Both side, dirty glass barely reflecting the growing world outside. I know nothing of its history, but I would guess the inside space for a vehicle showtoom, or dance studio. Stuck to another side, a dreaded Notice of Proposed Land Use sign, its mark of doom. The building remained unhabited on the inside, but still a some life on the outside…

Coming home last week, I walked down the Pine street from Capitol Hill. I could see the clearing out and tearing bits off the Convention Center Tunnel Station. No more waiting in the centered area, as my gateway to buses to the Bellevue, Kent, Lake City area have now scattered to other nearby stops. This is no longer the final stop after the long tunnel rides underneath the good stretch of old Seattle metropolis. I accepted this, as truth that change is constant and not always convenient.

But there, that little building on the corner of the once proud station center suddenly torn down is a sudden shock now. That was an unknown part to my world, a familiar marker to my daily trek, seen often from high and coming down Boren street from Pine.

Now, the building is now mashed and crunched. The monster I watched was vicious, yet precise on which parts to break first. The building is barely recognizable, and I almost looked away.

But, I should not. There is that reminder on the swiftness off a changing city, where the buildings of old are suddenly gone, with no respect towards what they brought to the past. The familiarity they brought to people’s live, are no more. And what comes next, will probably end up less exciting, as I find the new Seattle structures often boring and forgettable.

Meanwhile, cherish other mundane things that can be part of your daily life, for change may come quick, mashed and crunched.