Some of you might have heard me make a statement something like this:
“The Fountains of Bellagio are the most impressive creation of human hands I’ve had the chance to see.”
I’ve seen some of the most beautiful works of art, Michaelangelo’s Pieta and Sistene Chapel. I’ve walked agape through the halls of the most decadent structure Western society has created, St. Peter’s Basillica. I’ve looked out over the hundreds of miles visible on a clear day from the top of mankind’s largest freestanding structure, the CN tower. I’ve yet to see many things, for sure, but nothing has impressed me like those fountains.
Situated in a large artificial pool almost 1000 feet long, the fountains are a gigantic tribute to the beauty of water and music. Standing barely 100 feet away from the nearest jets, the fountains become a white wall capable of shooting hundreds of feet into the air. Some of the larger jets erupt so loudly through the surface of the lake that they make a sound very much like a shotgun salute. Yet with so much power available, the jets are choreographed in often delicate and surprisingly graceful ways. Combined with some of the most inspiring music ever written, the effect is absolutely breathtaking.
Technology can be so dehumanizing. It distances us from our friends and neighbors, often robbing us of time to know ourselves. Yet, it can, and will ever more so, help to create some of the most fantastic expressions of humanity the world will ever know.
