permaculture

["Ava Devenport" <essenheal@hotmail.com>]

Dear Lawrence:

I know that you're not a fan of 'double posting', but may I please share 
this with both the market-farm and the permaculture lists?  A dear neighbor 
(at the end of my dirt road in CO) sent this to me and it seems so fitting.

Blessings,
Ava



Ava, I wonder if there might be some truth in this?:

 Ode of the Dirt Road

What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many dirt roads
have been paved.

There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs, education,
divorce, delinquency, that wouldn't be remedied if we just had more dirt 
roads, because dirt roads give character.

People that live at the end of dirt roads learn early on that life
is a bumpy ride.  That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, 
but it is worth it, if at the end is home, a loving spouse, happy kids and a 
dog.

We wouldn't have near the trouble with our educational system if
our kids got their exercise walking a dirt road with other kids, from whom 
they learn how to get along.

There was less crime in our streets before they were paved.
Criminals don't usually walk two dusty miles to rob or hurt, if they knew 
they'd be welcomed by five angry dogs and a very determined home owner. And 
there were no drive by shootings.

Our values were better when our roads were worse. People did not worship 
their cars more than their kids, and motorists were more courteous, they 
didn't tailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you 
with dust and bust your windshield with rocks.
Dirt roads taught patience.

Dirt roads were environmentally friendly; you didn't hop in your car for a 
quart of milk, you walked to the barn for it. For your mail, you walked to 
the mailbox.

What if it rained and the dirt road got washed out?  That was the
best part; then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted 
marshmallows and popped corn and had pony rides on Daddy's shoulders and you 
learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody else.

At the end of dirt roads, you soon learned that bad words tasted
like soap.

Most paved roads lead to trouble; dirt roads more likely lead to a
fishing creek or a swimming hole.

At the end of a dirt road, the only time we even locked our car was in 
August, because if we didn't some neighbor would fill it with zucchini.

At the end of a dirt road, there was always extra springtime income, from 
when city dudes would get stuck; you'd have to hitch up a team and pull them 
our.  Usually you got a dollar...always got a new friend...at the end of a 
dirt road.

Author Unknown


Thanks for the 'OKAY', Lawrence! A.



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