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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Hunger in America

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Pat Meadows <pat@meadows.pair.com>
  • To: "self-reliance, networking, and simple living, for small farm sustainability, rural independence and security." <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Hunger in America
  • Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 09:02:01 -0500

On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 14:02:14 -0700, you wrote:


>I have been asked to teach basics and have been giving it some thought.
>Perhaps a book might be better? It woul be able to benefit more.
>

It seems to me that most people have an amazing reluctance
to read books.

I read books. Everything I have ever learned to do (except
to type and play the piano) has been learned from books,
only (and mailing lists/newsgroups in very recent days). (I
actually had teachers for typing and playing the piano.)

I've learned from books *only*. I've never known anyone (in
person) who lived near by and gardened (for food), or who
baked bread, cooked basic foods, preserved food in any way,
etc. (I know two such people who live nearby now, but have
only known them for four years.) My mother didn't garden or
cook basic foods. My grandmother didn't. In fact, neither
of them even grew flowers - they were city people.

My grandmother thought the epitome of 'home cooking' was
mixing two different cans of Campbell soup together and
heating them up! Yikes. My grandmother was born in the
1880s, God knows where she got this idea. HER mother *must*
have cooked. But she certainly didn't. I had no other
family near by to teach me.

Cooking, gardening, preserving food, computer use, sewing,
everything else I know how to do: I learned from books.
When I want to know how to do something, I get a book that
teaches me how. Sometimes I get a library book. Sometimes
I buy a book.

I see people who make mistake after mistake after mistake
because they absolutely REFUSE to read a book. The mistakes
cost them time and money. But they STILL won't read a book.

I think people who are willing to read books don't need a
course, really, they will learn on their own. It's the
others who need it.

Pat
--
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and edible flower seeds especially selected for successful
container growing - http://www.containerseeds.com .





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