Because I didn’t think I was my best shiny-souled self when last I blogged, I sat down yesterday at the library to noodle something “lite” but good for you. Anyhow, I tried. No sooner had I taken care of a few bits of online housekeeping than I flew into rebellion against all acts of duty. I couldn’t blog. I couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t bear the noise of the library. I couldn’t face the prospect of going home and cleaning my car (which I had to do because I was scheduled to drive a friend to the hospital and I’m…
Category: Rural and small-town living
Life far from freeways, Starbucks, malls, and other benefits/distractions
Sunday. March 17. Seventy-two degrees. Barely a breath of wind. Not a single cloud. And Furrydoc and I walked barefoot on that warm, pristine sand with the dogs. We didn’t write that message in the first photo, but we sure shared the exuberance that inspired somebody to do it. Beaches in this part of the world are commonly socked in or howling with wind (or both) at any time of year. A day like this would be a rare treat, even in July or August. In March? It’s a miracle! My favorite moment was rounding a curve in the cliffs…
VONU: A Strategy for Self-Liberation By Shane Radliff July 2018 Liberty Under Attack Publications 126 pages This part is actually something like a book review. Mostly. So there I was, idly seeking any good reference to long-ago disappeared Rayo and his writings on the VONU life. And while most of the ‘Net seemed to have forgotten that pioneer of modern liberty, one site — one shiny site called The Vonu Podcast — was entirely dedicated to reviving Rayo’s ideas and advancing and popularizing them for the 21st century. Better yet,
VONU: A Strategy for Self-Liberation By Shane Radliff July 2018 Liberty Under Attack Publications 126 pages This is inspired by the above book, and I’ll have more to say about that great new read later. But keep in mind that this is not exactly a book review. —– Slip back in time roughly 50 years. Ayn Rand had shaken the foundations of the political world with Atlas Shrugged — and awakened a whole lot of intelligent, isolated young people. These young men and women knew they were neither “conservatives” nor “liberals,” but they hadn’t recognized there was a coherent philosophy…
Yes, I know. According to the strictest definition (factions battling violently to control the same government) the U.S. hasn’t had Civil War I — yet. But leave that quibble aside for the moment; there are other definitions. Suddenly, talk of upcoming Civil War II is everywhere. Oh sure, predictions of war have been made on the political fringes for decades. But now they’re mainstream — or as close to mainstream as you can get without having the (increasingly empty-headed) New York Times do a cosmopolitan feature on what fashionable Manhattanites should wear apres battle. I’ve never been convinced we’re headed…
Or perhaps it would be better to say this is a ramble about finding freedom/reality balance — an ideal personal compromise between how much we struggle for the larger ideals of freedom and how much freedom we create in our personal lives. We’ve talked before about the difference between fighting for freedom and living free — and the difference between studying freedom in theory and using it in your own life. Nothing creates more burnout among freedomistas than beating our heads against futile causes. Yet there are always causes. And occasionally, freedom wins. So we fight. Even as we lose…
I was snoozed out this morning about 10:00 when Ava started barking. I was too out of it to investigate, and in any case she didn’t seem particularly alarmed. I drifted back under. There must have been a knock on the door, but I missed it. Next thing I knew a little voice called from discreetly outside my bedroom: “Claire? Claire? It’s J. Are you alright?” Neighbor J and her daughter had read yesterday’s blog post, in which I said I was thinking about asking her to check in if I wasn’t feeling better today. And there they were. Her…