Rugged Individualists, Every One.

I can’t be bothered to research all the other people who surely have noticed the inherent irony in videotaping your back-to-nature wilderness homesteading experience and posting it to the internet. Face it: We are and have been connected. King Tut’s tomb contained amber beads from Lithuania, not that it was Lithuania 3,500 years ago. At least 10,000 years before that people were using obsidian tools from distant locations which they probably weren’t walking over there to get it. What I’m getting at is, it’s been a long time since anybody was really off the grid. Folks, we are the grid.

dogs are the constant

Some things get better as you go along: My ability to sit quietly and wait when it is necessary or opportune to do so. My newfound tendency to read all the directions before pressing the start button. Also, shoes in general, which these days are comfy even when brand new. Some things get worse. Among the things in life that start out really good and get progressively worse as you go along: Your lumbar spine and Star Wars movies. Also an entire box of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls in a single sitting. Don’t ask me how I know this.

just smile and nod

I’ve been studying Spanish online now for probably 6 or 7 years and if you compare my progress to how much Spanish a newborn in let’s say Madrid would have picked up in those same 6 or 7 years, I’m not doing a very good job. Still, when I hear people talking among themselves, I can sometimes get the gist of it, not so much knowing the language as being comfortable with just sort of barely vaguely understanding what the topic is, which might be the more useful skill. It’s pretty much how I get by in my native language.

If you're very lucky

You may at some point find that you have become a retired person, meaning that when you wake up in the morning you are not expected to show up anywhere at any particular time to do any particular thing. And, during your retirement you may occasionally take a trip to visit with friends and family and simply be in a different place. Okay. But visiting with friends and family and enjoying their company and eating delicious food can wear a person out. In consequence, you may find that you need to take a break from being on vacation from retirement.