Letter: Let’s go prehistoric

Published January 28, 2009 by PTLeader.com

Wanna give away your car? Do it. I did, a couple of years ago. If you're gonna give it away, bury it. End its usage of oil. You think I'm fulla hooey?

I'm 60. I've used enough energy to fly to the moon. I've owned 40 cars, flown to a dozen countries or more, and all over this country. I've been overeating for 20 years. OK, 30. Way too much. If, as hunter/gatherers, we had used a fraction of that energy, this future wouldn't have made it to the distant past.

Back in the day, we walked across continents. We didn't eat every day, but when we did we ate good. We ate fresh mastodon, giant greens, abundant fruit and water, were always on our feet, used no printed currency, hollered or used percussion to communicate, sang together, danced for mutually affected reasons. Shall I continue?

Let's do it again. In Port Townsend, Sequim, Port Angeles, Brinnon, even in Seattle. Serious. Wanna? We'd amaze ourselves in one generation. Look what's happened since the '50s in an opposite direction.

I walk everywhere; can't afford a bicycle. Any distance I have to travel, I use train or bus. I shop local, period. In fact, I shop exclusively at The Food Co-op for food and dry goods, local hardware stores, and if I need clothes (I rarely do; after all, good clothes last years), I shop scrupulously. I can dress in rags or to the nines.

Do you know the origin of scrupulous? Way back when, a scruple was an English coin used only for paying taxes. Those who were so poor they "had no scruples" were not trusted. The term was "coined" by the insecure rich.

It's not about comparisons but encouragement. Don't imagine I live a special way. We all live a special way. It's a democracy, remember, a democratic republic. There's an underlying plutocracy, whether governed by a kakistocracy or a meritocracy, but only the proactively educated discuss that.

The only way to clean house is to begin with the source of the "dirt." Leave your shoes at the door.

One more bit of linguistic information: The origin of posh is: port out, starboard home – the preferred round-trip train ticket from England to India, to avoid the sun's heat.

How about we stop using toilet paper? Use water; it's cleaner, easier, and of course, saves trees.

ARTIS

Port Townsend

Original Article: http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=23111&TM=48098.14