An Impossible Dream or Every Motorist's Nightmare?
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive October 2004:
An Impossible Dream or Every Motorist's Nightmare?
This article was in our community newspaper this week. I thought it was neat for those of us who long for the "good old days."
COLUMN: An impossible dream or every motorist's nightmare?
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 By SHERRY KUYT
I had a terrible dream last night. Gas suddenly jumped up to $10 a gallon.
Everywhere was chaos. Abandoned vehicles littered the streets. People couldn't afford to drive to work, and the economy crashed. Natural gas prices rose sky-high. Increased shipping costs were passed along to grocery stores, where a box of Cheerios now sold for $14.95.
One million protesters gathered in Washington, carrying signs saying "Give US Gas!" and "Power to the People!"
The president stubbornly refused to subsidize lower prices for crude oil, saying he wanted to give capitalism a chance. Congress was unable to override him, as many members couldn't get there in time for the vote.
People began slipping across the border into Mexico, where gas was two dollars cheaper. Those who immigrated to the U. S. did so because they wanted to share our form of government, not our prosperity.
The Big 3 automakers laid off half their employees. The rest were trained to work in research and development. Hybrid and electric-powered cars zoomed out of showrooms, and entrepreneurs began marketing homemade vehicles that ran on eggshells and apple peels. Beat-up bicycles sold for $500 on eBay.
My family was hit like everyone else's. Instead of frequenting McDonald's, we stayed home and ate vegetables we had raised ourselves and beef from the neighbor's cow.
I forgot to mention: zoning rules were relaxed, allowing homeowners everywhere to raise livestock, build furniture, or sell baked goods from their own kitchens.
We switched to local stores, banks, and doctor's offices. Church-hopping became an unaffordable luxury. If you got mad at a fellow-member, you worked it out.
Kids no longer rode the school bus across town. Small independent schools began popping up all over, and although their students couldn't create Power Point presentations, they did learn how to read, write, and do arithmetic.
Instead of driving to the mall or the movies, we stayed home. We couldn't afford cable TV, so we read books and played board games. If we needed something, we ran over to the neighbors' whom, by the way, we were finally getting to know.
Thermostats were set at 60 degrees in winter. To keep warm, we exercised, put on extra clothes, and snuggled. Smoke from coal and wood stoves wafted through the air, replacing car exhaust fumes.
Children and teens were forced to gather wood and pull weeds in the family garden. This left them with less time or energy for getting into trouble. Everyone lost weight and grew calluses. The local gym shut down and reopened as a hardware store.
People saved their pennies and went on occasional driving trips across the country. But they thought twice before moving away from their families, knowing reunions would be scarce.
Elderly folks left ritzy retirement villages and moved in with their children. Conflicts ensued; they worked it out.
Because hospital stays were now prohibitively expensive, most illnesses and injuries were treated at home. As a result, sick people didn't live as long. But they died surrounded by familiar faces.
At first, we reminisced about the "good old days" when gas was $2 a gallon. But as time went on, we slowly grew accustomed to a life of hard work, simple pleasures, and getting around on our own two feet.
Then I woke up.
All I can say is..........WOW!
Gee that is a scary thing to think about!
What's scary is bing forced to live this way. What's neat is that people actually used to live this way and were HAPPY.
My DH and I have seriously been exploring living more this way. We are both reading a lot of books on simplicity and are significantly cutting back on TV, computer stuff, eating out, processed foods, etc. I think in our pursuit of "convenience" that we are becoming way too busy and forgetting what is important. That's actually why I'll be around a lot less on the computer from now on. We are working on becoming much more simple in our daily lives and fostering the lost art of hospitality---friends gathering around a dinner table for good food and conversation.
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