connected museings

Just finished reading World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler, borrowed the book from Rafny. I'd read The Geography of Nowhere a while ago, and now I'm thinking to look for his other books. He is a clear and thoughtful writer, descriptive without being despairing. I found World Made By Hand all too realistic, I've seen that world a-coming since I was a youngster. There is a similar flavor to the writings of Edgar Pangborn, if anyone out there has read any of his "Tales of a Darkening World" (I first read Pangborn's Davy at about age eleven, when I discovered it on the bookshelves at home, and in each subsequent re-reading I discover something new, as my perspective changes)

In some ways I've lived my life always holding somewhere in mind the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it... As a littley kid, duck-and-covering under the desk at school, it would be "the bomb"...as a young hippie it was "come the revolution"... and as time went on a generalised "when the s**t hits the fan"...for years I kept gear packed to grab and go, and clear mental maps of the routes away from the city...

And all the skills I learn, I always think how useful would this be? It is an odd filter to apply to life, perhaps. I'm still working on learning new skills...never liked gardening before, but it seems a vital skill now, for a whole host of reasons.

And moving to Portland was an odd one for me, I love it here, but in some ways Olympia is waay more sustainable. I had to balance out my desire for a new and different life, with my feelings of safety in a smaller town with artesian water and decades of connections.

Someone once asked me why I didn't gamble, when I didn't want to buy her raffle tickets...I replied that I gambled with my whole life...she looked puzzled...

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