I'm in a small town an hour and a half from Ithaca and I was really unhappy at first. I actually went because my first impulse was to stay at home and be by myself--a negative impulse. I have plenty of alone time, and it can get to be too much. So I wasn't too pleased to find myself in "middle America"--not diverse (I felt really funny being there just a short time), jingoistic lyrics to the music, etc. Part of me is really negative and critical of people who aren't aware of things outside themselves, and it's not a good tendency. Very snobby. So I decided to do the "fake it 'til you make it". We went out on a pond in a little paddle boat and it was fun. I saw a cute little snake, a beautiful sunset, and I enjoyed seeing their garden. So I enjoyed it in the end, but it's still not for me. I'd rather be in a more progressive, diverse area.

One neat thing I found was a Mother Earth News (a back-to-the-land type magazine, it looks at organic farming and homesteading) from 1973. The problems then were the same as now--it makes me think things can keep hobbling on for a long time, treating the lowest class poorly and taking from the earth without giving back. There were many letters from people looking for similarly minded people (no internet back then!), and I wonder what became of them. I know several back-to-land farmers that moved from cities to farms in the 70s, and I deeply respect them. The magazine is a fascinating look back.