I've always found it interesting the number of books that are written about people's adventures to quaint, country lifestyles and simple basics. I came across the latest of these in a magazine, where an author decided to learn about raising goats by traveling across 43 states.
Now.
I may be way off but it seems to me that the only way to really learn about raising goats is to sell your city cabin, move to the country, buy a farm and some goats.
Subletting your condo, and traveling with the book advance isn't quite the same thing.
There are many folks that try this- whether they sample different religions, try to eat local food for 2 summer months or sample country living by leasing a fully renovated farm house with no plumbing problems or mice infestations.
A recent report tells us that now over half of the US population is no longer rural. And it seems that some kind of romanticism has popped up about the good life in small farms. But it is simply another form of tourism.
If life in rural areas was really encouraged to continue, the Farm bill wouldn't be helping corporate agribusinesses, but family farming practices and health agriculture practices.
People would know that canning vegetables is a full time and tricky business- and in February, your are either out of dill beans or really, really sick of them.
An author would learn that raising stubborn goats for milk is a dirty, messy, financially strapped, and sometimes very lonely job.
How can we simplify our lives if we can't give things up?
2 comments:
Amen sister! amen! amen! amen!
I just stumbled across your YouTube of Miss South Carolina and I want to say THANKS for the post -- it made me laugh out loud. It was hilarious. I don't agree with the comment-er who was offended -- this was not a private moment made public -- it was by definition a public moment -- and she fell on her face. There is humor when people "play to type." A Barbie-doll who can't complete a sentence is humorous. Thanks so much for posting this!
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