Backroads Journal

Inflation! Recession! REVOLUTION!

OK.  OK.  I know gas prices are high and going higher and this is a travel web site based on driving.  It is obvious that things are going to change.  Like it or not, we all will be seeing changes in our lifestyles.  We can either hunker down and gripe about Big Oil and the cost of gas, feel sorry for ourselves and take it out on others or make changes to our way of doing things.  My solution?  Change.  Change the way we consume.  Change the way we choose what we need.  Change what we do for enjoyment.  Change how we travel.

 

Have you taken time lately to actually notice that nearly everything we buy is made in China?  Why is that?  It’s because we, as a nation, want a lot of stuff and we want it cheap.  The quality is going down, local Mom and Pop businesses are disappearing and we just keep buying more and more cheap stuff.  I think it’s time for a REVOLUTION!  Rebel!  Turn the pages back to the 1960’s and take a lesson in quality of life.
 
All of our problems these days relate back to consumerism and consumption.  We have been conned into believing that, if we have all the new gadgets and buy all the new trends at Pottery Barn, we will be living the good life.  What has happened is that we have lost what was good and comfortable in exchange for more cheap stuff.  No one has time to invite friends over for dinner anymore because we are so busy working for our stuff.  All of our electronic devices are driving us crazy!  China is getting rich and we are losing our minds.  Slow down!  Buy half as much and buy quality.  Call a friend to come and visit over a glass of lemonade on the patio instead of texting each other as you both drive to the mall.  Take your cloth bags to the local farm market and buy locally-grown products instead of avocados trucked in from Mexico.  Seek out local businesses to support.
 
We can embrace the new era with a feeling of relief that we can now turn our attentions to enjoying life instead of trying to keep up.  Our slowing down and consuming less should especially relate to our driving habits.  Remember back, if you are my age, to the vacations of the 60’s, before the construction of the Interstates.  We drove the two-lane highways at 55 miles per hour, stopped at roadside picnic tables for Mom-made sandwiches and chips, read every historical marker and totally enjoyed the trip.  We drove half as far, two-thirds as fast and enjoyed it twice as much.  We can go back to that.  Drive the backroads, save gas by driving slower and driving half as far, reconnect with your local countryside and support the local economy.  It’s what we have been advocating all along on this web site.  It makes more sense now that ever before.

REVOLUTION?  You bet!  I think we will all be the better for a little change in life style.

Slow down, wander the backroads, buy some farm produce and home-made jam, spend your money in the struggling rural communities, consume less, throw away less, breathe deep, see the real beauty in the countryside and enjoy life more.  How’s that for a revolution?