Very close to my street, you’ll find a local artwork of sorts. One I’ve been meaning to snap a photo of for a while. On an overcast day so close to the Christmas holiday, I thought it reasonable to finally pull over and take a picture:
This photo works for a few reasons in Moab:
- The 1954 classic B movie classic “THEM!” seems an obvious inspiration. A film about mutant ants in a desert town causing the potential downfall of civilization? Heck yeah! A young Leonard Nimoy played a small role in this movie as well.
- Post-1980, people forget that Moab played a vital role in the early days of uranium mining. Hidden in plain sight is the UMTRA clean-up project that three-million visitors potentially pass every year! As of 2020, 11 million tons of tailings got moved since 2009.
- As a young computer geek circa 1990, I played the classic game “IT” Came from the Desert” on my Amiga 500. An obvious homage to THEM!, the game intro alone is worth watching for the voice-over.
- Finally, as a native Rhode Islander, I can’t help but think of Nibbles Woodaway, aka The Big Blue Bug, when I see the Moab Ants. :).
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Happy Holidays from our humble desert home. If you get ants, may they be festive ones wearing Santa hats!