The rural imagination

Everyone knows the 21st century will be an urban century.  People have been leaving farms and countryside in a steady stream since the Industrial Revolution began.  Nobody seems to have any real vision for what it means to be rural - especially not government policy-makers.  It makes me wonder if that's because the people who make policy come from sub-urban and urban backgrounds . . .but,  the idea that people can live a fulfilling live in the country (or a very small town where most people are on a first-name / kinship basis) seems to be at odds with today's society.

I grew up in the country.  I still miss it - I miss the smell of the air, the rhythm of the seasons, the woodsmoke (the wood heat!!), cold brooks, big stars, earthy gardens and silence so thick you can drink it in.  And I used to bike 2 kms on fall and spring mornings to get to Debec Elementary School, where my extended and immediate family have attended since it began in the 1960's.

Soon DES is closing, and with it another chapter of rural life - along with the passenger trains, the barn raisings, the end of horsepower and the blacksmith, and locally-raised food.  I know the 21st century will be a liberating one in many ways - notably for women and the LGBT community worldwide - but I also wish little Debec Elementary had a place in that century.  I owe it a lot.

Okay, tough guy, now get back to work

Here's a great article about why we have to get back to the 40-hour workweek.  It's worth reading in its entirety, especially if you are the kind of person who a.) thinks that working longer hours means more productivity, or b.) that people who don't work more than 40 hours are lazy c.) feels burnout and notices that it's taking longer than you thought to recover.

One of the most interesting points: people who do manual or industrial jobs can be productive for up to 8 hours a day.  People who are 'knowledge workers" - ie. people who sit in front of a screen, or who are constantly reading and calculating, would be better off sticking with 6 hours daily.

Variety is the spice of life, I say.