A BOOMER FAMILY TREE GROWS CLOSE TO TOWN

 BUT NOT TOO CLOSE.

When people say it’s best to live close to the land, what do they mean?

Call it the rural side of life. The closer the better.

It’s a perspective fewer and fewer are blessed with.

Country living shows you the cycles of life, the cycle of many lives, like a live cat birth, the cats growth, and the mice they kill.

Kitty litter means something different on the farm.

The only thing better than living close to the land is having parents who lived it.

Before college, before the shirt, the tie, and the company car, came a few generations living close to the land.

Most families have pictures similar to the one above of my great-grandfather. When you find them, look at them to see yourself.

You’re in there.

My wife found a stack of images, about ten copies of four shots. The idea was making packs of four and sending them out to family. It could still happen.

She said the picture reminded of her of Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World. So I checked.

via artchive.com

The idea is nice, but it’s not the same. Maybe it needs help? Many artists create work that need a little boost.

Christina’s World got one.

via nancyann.org

Still not quite there? Pick another here.

Getting on the ground helps. It’s a start.

Bring up the idea of living close to the land around baby boomers or people even older and you’ll hear amazing stories.

From Honolulu Lou:

“When we were kids we lived on the edge of town. The property had cages for some reason so my older brother asked if he could raise rabbits. Our parents said yes.

“My brother had a mean streak and wouldn’t let me play with the rabbits, or even pet them. They were so cute that it seemed cruel I couldn’t play with them.

“Eventually the rabbit population grew out of control and my mother had my brother brother butcher a few rabbits for dinner. It was very hard on him and he wouldn’t eat them, but I sat at the table with my plate full, talking about how good they tasted. Better than chicken. I finally got to play with the rabbits and my brother couldn’t do anything about it but cry.”

Living close to the country makes you tough. You have to be. That cute little pig your dad brought home? The one you named? After the first time, you know how it ends.

City kids have a cat or a dog, maybe an ant farm. The only farm animals they see are in the grocery store. They don’t have the same relationship with food as country kids.

How about you? Were you a city kid or a country cousin? Leave a story in comments.