Raise the Hammer

Hope this comment gets through. Great observation, Jenny. And the Rubbermaid keeps coming. I wonder where it all goes. Why does the City restrict us to one bag of garbage, yet when it comes to development, they keep promoting retail?

Okay, Jenny, take a deep breath: I have no TV. Therefore, I do not have all the accessory entertainment devices that go with one. I have no air conditioner (and I live on the top floor of a 4-floor walkup where AC is not provided centrally). I have no microwave. It broke and I did not replace it. I have no toaster. I had the use of a car, because I worked out of it, but no longer have one. I don't have a bicycle or a vehicle of any kind. I walked from downtown Hamilton to The Meadowlands, and I will admit it was to buy a copy of the Lemon Aid Used Car Guide. I have no stereo. I do not have an MP3 player. I have no such devices. I sing when I am alone, and am getting better at it. I can play music on my computer. I have a telephone and an answering machine. I have regular service only, and no special services. I have no cell phone. I did have an old one someone gave me, because I used it for working. Like the car, it is no more.

My computer is 11 years old, and I can't really update anything. My ISP has just told me that dial-up internet will no longer be provided to me. I have a decision to make. It is a tough one. You and RTH may be the last parties with whom I communicate this way. (If I manage to do so with success.)

I find that the older I get, the coarser I want my hair shirt to be, rather than less so. Yet I do not feel deprived. In the original Kung Fu TV series, what did Quai Chang Caine carry in that bag, anyway --that is, other than the flute? I hope to find out some day. Golden years? I hope to transact my senescence with coin of a baser metal.

I am not a Luddite or Amish. I think the refrigerator is one of the greatest things humankind has ever devised. From working outdoors in the winter, I have learned that the first luxury is to get out of the wind. The second is to have a heat source. The less I have, the more I appreciate these basics.

I am not without vices. I just find a lot of "stuff" encumbrances. Yet somehow I do find those containers attractive. I have less and less to put into them, but they have some appeal of their own for some reason.

I tell most people I meet that everyone in our culture should read Walden by Henry David Thoreau. If anyone has been interested enough to get this far in my commentary, then they should read it, too.