America was a great country before it became a white country.

America was NEVER a white country.

I’m part Cherokee. The rest of you are all illegal immigrants as far as the People are concerned.

I worked for years in a local assessors office — in the older parts of Indianapolis, the lots were narrow but deep because a backyard vegetable garden was de rigeur. Newer property comes in all sorts of shapes — flowers and grass rule the yards.

In the suburbs here east of Columbus, Ohio, the neighborhood associations PROHIBIT vegetable gardens! The residents LIKE it that way. I don’t understand it… my little suburb, though, dates from the late 50’s and 60’s, and we are allowed to have gardens.

My neighbor from the house behind, an old man named Keogh, gave me 6 tomatoes and several cucumbers and a sweet bell pepper right out of his garden! They were so wonderful. I missed my lovely garden from my last home, and missed neighborly neighbors, so what a treat. I’m planting raspberries next year to share with Keogh and his wife.

I don’t know about Mel above, but in my experience, our book learning is a great foundation for all living and while I count myself as privileged to be well educated, a lot of that has come through my own choices to be a life long learner way beyond what my schooling provided for me.

Still, when it comes to survival skills, it’s from the folks who are already living a more alternative lifestyle that I really learn most, whether it’s gardening and putting by, doing for ourselves in other ways and especially doing without. In my rural home here, we do a little of each of the above, except for doing without, which we do a fair amount of, but don’t really suffer from. And what I have learned and have to share, makes no sense outside of my rural lifestyle.

However much I may worry about those who, by circumstances of their own lives or their own interests don’t have a clue, and I do, should our collective life here in the US crash and burn, each of us is going to be pretty busy taking care of ourselves and supporting our local communities. Unfortunately, urban folk will have a different and perhaps more difficult row to hoe, but burying my own hopes and dreams to live in a ghetto isn’t going to make the world a better place than living well and being a good member of my community here is. Peace, and thanks for the post and for the great comments you elicited from our blessed community.

Mel @ 32

Beautiful, but idealistic. You have knowledge, skill, and land to live “simple.” Most Americans don’t, won’t, and can’t. Thus, if those days return, you’ll become the new fat cat, the supporter of less government, you’ll be the prototype new Republican.

Sorry Mel, but I totally disagree.

In my part of the country, its the DFL – Democratic Farmer Labor party.

Most if not all of the major political parties in history originated with folks living on the land.

I might suggest you go back and read some history books! *g*

I was being somewhat facetious. With your knowledge, etc. you will be in a position to lord over others–and no, I don’t expect that to be the case here. I do know history, maybe you should look at the inner city populations–as always, they’re the ones that would be screwed.

We’re not talking history here, we’re talking today’s reality. You should consider good manners–it’s a city thing–you missed the boat. Live/work in the ghetto for awhile before you assume the world is as capable or as knowledgeable as you country boys/girls. Too many snobs or elitists are burrowing into this site–gentrification is urban removal.

Your grandpa have a Winchester Model 12?

windje

Oh, actually windje, it’s a Browning A5- my grandmother saved up and got it for him in the late ’60s. It’s a REALLY neat shotgun. It has some scratches in the forestock, where he leaned it against a barbwire fence some time in the ’70s.

I had it at the gunsmiths for something a couple of years back. Red, the gunsmith, said “I can get you a stock for that thing if you want to get one with no scratches on it.”

“That’s ok, Red. I don’t mind them too much,” I told him.

I have a bird dog, but his previous owner (he was a rescue of sorts) beat him, so he’s gun shy as hell. I am working on it. Making a dog be less gun shy is a challenge.

In the spring, I can hear quail calling from the field across the road. I sit there with Houston on the porch and say “You hear that, buddy? Those are QUAIL…” He just blinks at me and scratches himself.

*sigh*

Dogs…

I was working in the garden when this entry fell out of queue and got published, so I missed all the wonderful, WONDERFUL comments as they happened. I have just finished reading all of them.

Some of your recollections of long-ago grandparents and their Labor (It made us what we are!! HONOR IT!) brought me to tears.

There are so many things I wish I had been here to respond to as you folks posted them-

I am all for an little FDL town in the Appalachians. ;-)

I can teach folks to grow stuff, how to enrich soil organically, how to prune fruit trees and grapevines, AND I can teach French, Spanish and world history at the Emma Goldman Primary School….

Plus, I can fix computers, tractors and cars. I am all about being useful, folks…

SteveAudio says:
Morning, Patrick.

Hey Steve!!

biscuit says:

A dear friend of mine who started out life pretty successful (parents well-educated and well-to-do) and got moderately more successful in a profession, recently spoke about people who work with their hands and have trouble paying the bills every month as “losers”.

Heh. When that guy shows up at your door begging for you to sell him a potato tell him he pays DOUBLE. He’s got loads of money, right?

And this supercilious prick is an ACCOUNTANT?

Aheh. whatever….

A lot of you (I hope you’ve checked back and are reading this) have mentioned that you wish you had grandparents around to ask after the secrets of plump, red tomatoes and tall corn. GET THIS BOOK:
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery. $20 that will change your life. It NEVER leaves my bedside table. Many nights I have spent pondering how to keep chickens from getting cold at night or how to keep wasps from boring into my peaches, I have turned to this book and had all of my questions answered.

And, between you and me, there are very few problems in a garden that a big pile of well-composted horse manure won’t fix….

Jesus B. Ocoa @104: Viva la barrio, hermano.

If everyone’s interested, I will start keeping a much more detailed diary of how things are going in my garden over at my regular blog.

Thanks for all the kind words. My lovely wife and I are making homemade peach ice cream tomorrow for labor day. You’re invited.

I work in a non-managerial but rather (by Savannah standards) nicely paid job in one of our hospitals. One of the things I try to do on a regular basis is thank the people who cook the food and clean the place. They’re always, ALWAYS, surprised that a “white collar” even notices that they exist. The fact of the matter is that hospital could carry on without me a HELL of a lot better than it could without the people who wash the floor. When I tell a member of the housekeeping staff this, they just laugh…. Sigh.

I was raised to believe that work had value. ALL work had value, and honor. I guess that brands me as an “old fart,” but I’m only about 6 months older than the pResident (not a typo) so maybe it’s not an age thing but a “class” thing. Well, Patrick, you’ve got class, and the folks who are ushering in the new Gilded Age need to be sent back to class to learn a bit of history. And perhaps some humility as well. Thanks again for this post.

just grow!

peas!

I’m stuck on the debt tread mill too, working to get off.

Most of us can’t live like Helen & Scott Nearing, although when I first moved to Downeast Maine, it was my intention. What we can do though, is to live simply and spend our money thoughtfully and wisely (still working on that one). We can not shop at Walmart, not invest in Exxonmobil, and forgo much of what we think we want or need.

It breaks my heart to see hardworking families feel inferior because they don’t have the spending power of some of their friends and neighbors. That is a seriously twisted mindset. How do we move from such a place to one of simplicity and respect for a hard days work, whatever that work may be?

My father emdodied the spirit of simplicity. He was a hardworking man, not poor but certainly not rich. He had very little but was the most generous man I ever knew. He was happiest when his grandchildren were on his knee and he was telling stories or reading books. He was my buddha dad.

Thank you again for this post Patrick. I want my country back and taking steps towards living debt free and enjoying the simple good life is another way to begin to do it.

Congratulations siun (btw, I got my puppy. His name is Ajax, very sweet, smart, and busy. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t been around much).