Homestead mailing list

[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Gene GeRue wrote:
> We homesteaders trend past independence into isolationism.

I believe I agree with that.  My friend Ava makes me get and go to town
every once in a while.  I could stay here indefinitely, I think.<g>


Only with
> the tempering perspective of age do I understand the superiority of
>  community-supported individualism.
>
> Community does not come without direction or planning. It must be 
> created and nourished.

I'm not sure that I agree with that, however.  When people ask me where
I live, I say Rock Creek and every one knows what my life is like.
People out here live their own lives without excessive comraderie (maybe
church, but other than that, not too much social glue).  There is no
direction, no planning, no real organization, but there is a community.
 We generally don't get into each other's business-people keep to
themselves on a day to day basis, only getting together for things like
looking at the latest deer or catching horses or rounding up people to
cut trees off the road or report hunting violators.  It is not a
'created' community, not even unincorporated, but it is a community.
The guy who used to cut my hair also-just by chance-cut the hair of 3
other women who lived out here.  He called us his 'mountain women'
because we were 'tough'(reminds me of what Bob always says).  Around
here, my friend Ava is probably the most citified, then me.  These women
can pull a calf or milk a goat or break a horse just as easily as they
pour a cup of coffee.  Seriously.  I am just now starting to feel like I
am part of that.  I think actually, what we have is what you describe as
community supported individualism, but there is no direction or planning
or nourishment.  It is just neighbor helping neighbor, people doing what
needs to be done, doing the right thing...by each other, by their
animals, and by the earth.  Generally.  I've mentioned the guy I call
the 'resident felon' multiple times.  I should take this moment to say
that should J ever decide to turn his life around, get off drugs, and
stay out of jail, I'd stop raggin' on him.  On the few occasions that we
have conversed when he is sober, he is a funny guy and I was quite
charmed by him.  But, he is not that bright(he continues to get caught),
he is unrepentant(there's that word again<g>), socially irresponsible
and unreliable, and frankly quite scary at times because he can be
violent. So, J doesn't quite fit into the community and his landlord,
for whatever reason, can't get rid of him.  We also have a convicted sex
offender here(they are everywhere if you look-many have been chased out
to rural areas like this), but that guy keeps to himself and is not
obnoxious like J.  I haven't seen him, but I heard that he offered to
split some wood for a guy who was sick, and if that is true, then all I
can say is "that's the spirit" of our community.  As long as someone
pays their debt and makes changes in their life to become responsible
human beings, I'm good with that.

Maybe I have misunderstood what you meant, so please feel free to
explain further.

Bev

--
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to
hate. Hate leads to suffering.”        Yoda
http://www.myspace.com/tervetuloa13