I used to think I wanted to live in Montana --- until I went there too many times and heard the dropping of fifty forks on porcelain in a podunk diner one afternoon as everyone gawked at us in some sort of stupor.
Now, I really want to leave the US. Become an expatriate and never look back. I guess I am not sure. Sometimes I like the idea of not being tied to any certain place or house or possessions, but just traveling lightly and teaching in different countries. I also like the idea of fresh-baked bread and laid back atmospheres with outdoor cafes and smaller portion sizes. I want life to be simple...as simple as possible and to enjoy things like the breeze and the sound of crickets. That's all I want....forget the bills, the traffic, the politics, the media, the rude neighbors, the phony food and subliminal mf! I want OUT! I want to live OUTSIDE the consumption-driven culture created here and be HAPPY without all the plastic junk from WAL*MART. I do not need it and it definitely does not need me!
I want cold water from a real stream. I want a garden. I want art. Culture. I want a life. I want a protective layer of impermeable membrane to shield me from ignorance and hatred, judgment and grandiosity, materialism and greed.
And, from the best of my knowledge I must do this in a less materialistic culture. The trouble is that many cultures idolize the US way of life, thinking it is better than what they have. I wish this was not the case and that those people who live a simple life can enjoy each day for what it is. I try to do that, but it is difficult to ignore the destructive forces culminating all around, second-to-second, everywhere I listen, look, touch, feel and taste.
I want credit to go away. I want solicitors to stop trying to cram junk I don't need down my throat. I want most paper mail to dissolve. I want silliness to spontaneously combust...so I can say, "Oops!" and go right on tuning my ears to the sound of crickets.
