Reflection of The Inland Empire

The Inland Empire today is somewhat different than it was a hundred year ago. For instance there are no long the vast quantities of crops; there are still some farming areas but not as many as before, and the only crop (if that is the appropriate word) that still covers the majority of the Inland Empire, is the orange groves. The orange groves stretch from Riverside to Cherry Valley, and even farther on both sides (I don't know exactly how far). The pitiful thing about the orange groves, however, as they are a part of Inland Empire history, is that they are no longer being harvested; they are left where they are standing, dropping fruit that is left there to rot. My theory about this terrible fate of the orange grove, is that the land owners of the oranges might be planning to sell the land to real estate but don't want to (or can't) tear up the groves. Thus they are simply depriving the groves of proper care in hope that they will soon die. It is pitiful to let such a great resource go to waste.

Our Inland Empire has also changed somewhat for the better; Redlands is nearly famous (Jerry Bruckheimer recognized the city when he chose the cities in which there would be an eight o'clock showing of Pirates of the Caribbean), and there is plenty of tourism to the historical downtowns of Inland cities. With this popularity of much of Southern California comes problems, however. Much of the Inland Empire is located in the middle of a valley, therefore, every time the heat bears down and the wind blows from the west, the smog rolls in and gets stuck in our valley. This often causes health difficulties (people with sever asthma cannot linger outside for too long, is one example), and makes me realize that we need to do something about the smog problem in California.

In general, the Inland Empire is much more developed than it was (there are elementary schools and universities, for example), but it still contains many of the elements that molded it into what it is today. San Bernardino still has a Methodist, Presbyterian, Mormon, and Catholic Church, for example. There are also numerous refurbished Victorian homes in Redlands. The Inland Empire will continue to grow for generations to come, forever making new traditions and holding on to old ones.