Old farmhouse, Hebron

 
  December 30, 2008 – Thinking about my own life, as well as the times, I was reading a piece that made me think better, saner times may be coming. America has the purest, safest, best water in the world. More than 3 billion people in the world, according to the U.S., do not have access to clean freshwater. Americans do, and they spend 10 billion dollars a year to buy bottles of water, much of which is tap water put in bottles. This is how our economy works, I guess, creating needs for things we don’t need at great expense.
  I often buy those bottles of water, but I think I may stop. Not only is the tap water good, but there are all those millions of plastic bottles floating around piling up in dumps. It is insane, as is the market and the panic surrounding it. The guy at Glens Falls Toyota is right. We have to change the narrative, and I am working on it, taking a good look at the way I live, the things I buy and spend. From dog treats to water to my Satellite TV bill, to the number of animals on my farm, I am rethinking my life, and am increasingly coming to believe that we are not heading to Armageddon, but a saner, simpler and more coherent world.
  This has become personal, as it reflects itself on the farm, which is, day by day, becoming a different place. More about that as we approach the New Year.