My parents house has produced a little over two tons of garbage since the process of clearing it out of unneeded "stuff" has begun. After sorting through everything in the basement and garage, and assessing how big a dumpster we'll have to rent, I think that number will more than double before this is all over.I am amazed by how much two people can accumulate over forty years. I turned to my own things in the last year and begun a clearing process that has me even giving up (gasp!) books, music and shoes. Having worked the Renaissance Faires for a good number of years, the desire to be able to pack up everything I own and leave in a day still exists but it is somewhat thwarted by life "off the road."
After living in a trailer for a few months, actually using a camp fire to stay warm (which meant gathering wood every day from the surrounding forest), using pit toilets or port-o-lets so often that using a flush toilet was a source of great amusement and having a social life that revolved around men that wear tights and women that wear bustles every weekend who spend the week swimming in waterfalls and watching meteor showers whilst stoned, civilization seemed more than a little strange and pointless when I came back to it.
And now I hate to be without my computer. I'm horrified by pit toilets. I haven't worn a corset in years and I shudder to think of sleeping in the back of a car.
What the hell happened?
What happened to the person that ate out of breads bowls and drank out of glazed ceramic goblets almost exclusively? What happened to the chick cwho ould sleep soundly on a foam mattress in a shitty tent in the middle of a field overwhelmed with tree frogs who woke up Monday mornings to the sound of couples all around loudly fornicating? What happened to the girl that read by flashlight and danced under the moon?
She went home and got a job that would give her insurance and that would allow her to buy stuff.
I suspect my parents got an early start. And with four rowdy kids, they didn't have much chance to question it. But I seriously wonder whether the trade off was worth it.
2 comments:
I used to do the dirt-suckin' and costume-wearin' routine, too. One day I discovered that beds are more comfortable without rocks and I could still get laid and have a shower of my own nearby.
When I feel nostalgic for the drinking and dancing under the moon, I go to conventions, instead.
The only solution to accumulation is keep moving. After a while, you don't take it with you.
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