Monday, November 9, 2009

Leave It All Behind

I think about doing that every so often, especially after several days of be subjected to “stupid” people everywhere I go. I won’t bore you with specifics of who “stupid” people are because you probably already know and have also been in contact with them. Well I had that thought again last night as I watched a PBS show called Islands of Britain (http://www.rmpbs.org/content/index.cfm/show/149327/Islands-of-Britain). The host, British TV actor Martin Clunes, is traveling to a bunch of islands in Great Britain and started with the most northern islands, north of Scotland which include the Shetland Island.

The population of these islands vary from one (yes, Stuart Hill is the only resident of Forvik Island which is 3 mile by 5 mile, and independent from the rest of Britain, with its own flag, and Hill is in the process of designing its own currency – his web site is www.forvik.com) to 22,000. And while these islands are rural (no shopping malls, McDonalds, Starbucks, movie theaters or Barnes & Nobles) they are also remote. For example, Shetland Islands are 313 miles from Aberdeen, Scotland which is the closest metropolitan area. And most of that journey is by ferry. That is a long way to go for a Starbuck’s.

And while the more populated island don’t lack in basic amenities (electricity, plumbing, cars, phones and the Internet) I suspect that the residents have to get any supplies that aren’t “basic” (like food) from the Internet. I could do that with probably one exception, clothes. I definitely need to try those on before purchasing.

So while these islanders seem to lead peaceful lives (Saturday night is going to the community center to drink and listen to your neighbors sing and play music) there is still the practicality of earning a living and that’s my problem. I’m not a farmer or a fisherman. I am not a doctor or a plumber. I don’t possess any skill that would be a necessity to a community, so unless I was an established writer or had a “work-at-home” job that I can do remotely, it might not be that easy.

So I guess for now I’ll stay in my Denver suburb with a population of over 140,600, where I can drive to the nearest shopping mall that seems to be a Mecca for “stupid” people.

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