Henry and the Great Society
by H. L. Roush, Sr.
I purchased this book through Amazon because it isn't easily available elsewhere. The premise of the book might even be frowned upon today. I'm jumping ahead of myself!
The author wastes no time in explaining that he feels compelled to write this story and then goes on to admit that it is the sad story of his own life. I was intrigued with the description when I first read about the book and knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn't be offended by his sentiments......I'd probably agree wholeheartedly!
The story of our dear Henry begins in the midst of sweet contentment with his wife. They treasure their lives together. Bliss. Happiness. Their children are a part of this existence and life is good.
As time will often do, "progress" begins to make its way into the community where they live. Henry and his wife are able to stand back and evaluate the offerings that the changes might......could........WILL......bring about. They decide how much they want to participate in those changes.....aka, opportunities.
This very short book ( 188 pages in all ) is a revealing look at the way many conveniences and progressive changes affect our lives. I am not in favor of giving up all of the things we have come to depend upon. And this isn't a book about how to live "like the Amish," as some people I know would say. (You know who you are!) In fact, you need not change your way of life at all. I just felt a desire to read this book and evaluate my life, my time and how some convenient things hinder me from real living.
I can't fail to mention that the book was written in 1969! As I type this, I must smile to myself. How many things have been developed since then to "aid" us and make our lives better?! I appreciate the thought that Mr. Roush put into his story and I especially appreciate the effort and willingness to be so revealing since it represents some portion of his own life.
I did happen to find a copy of the book online which you can read if you are interested. If you do happen to read it, let me know what you think.
And before I sign off I must say the following so read it carefully:
I DO mill my own wheat for flour....but do so with an electric mill.
I DO own a cell phone....but don't use it much.
I DO quilt...sometimes by hand and sometimes by machine...gasp! (Confession: I'd love to buy a treadle machine)
I DO make the butter we eat....yes, in a food processor! More electronics!
NO washboard for me, laundry is done same as yours!
We garden, can some of our food, eat and drink "the good stuff", do as much home-cookin' as we can and love one another along the way. It was good to look at my life and priorities since I think they need to be evaluated on a constant basis.
Thank you to Adrienne for hosting Turn the Page.......Tuesday!
by H. L. Roush, Sr.
I purchased this book through Amazon because it isn't easily available elsewhere. The premise of the book might even be frowned upon today. I'm jumping ahead of myself!
The author wastes no time in explaining that he feels compelled to write this story and then goes on to admit that it is the sad story of his own life. I was intrigued with the description when I first read about the book and knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn't be offended by his sentiments......I'd probably agree wholeheartedly!
The story of our dear Henry begins in the midst of sweet contentment with his wife. They treasure their lives together. Bliss. Happiness. Their children are a part of this existence and life is good.
As time will often do, "progress" begins to make its way into the community where they live. Henry and his wife are able to stand back and evaluate the offerings that the changes might......could........WILL......bring about. They decide how much they want to participate in those changes.....aka, opportunities.
This very short book ( 188 pages in all ) is a revealing look at the way many conveniences and progressive changes affect our lives. I am not in favor of giving up all of the things we have come to depend upon. And this isn't a book about how to live "like the Amish," as some people I know would say. (You know who you are!) In fact, you need not change your way of life at all. I just felt a desire to read this book and evaluate my life, my time and how some convenient things hinder me from real living.
I can't fail to mention that the book was written in 1969! As I type this, I must smile to myself. How many things have been developed since then to "aid" us and make our lives better?! I appreciate the thought that Mr. Roush put into his story and I especially appreciate the effort and willingness to be so revealing since it represents some portion of his own life.
I did happen to find a copy of the book online which you can read if you are interested. If you do happen to read it, let me know what you think.
And before I sign off I must say the following so read it carefully:
I DO mill my own wheat for flour....but do so with an electric mill.
I DO own a cell phone....but don't use it much.
I DO quilt...sometimes by hand and sometimes by machine...gasp! (Confession: I'd love to buy a treadle machine)
I DO make the butter we eat....yes, in a food processor! More electronics!
NO washboard for me, laundry is done same as yours!
We garden, can some of our food, eat and drink "the good stuff", do as much home-cookin' as we can and love one another along the way. It was good to look at my life and priorities since I think they need to be evaluated on a constant basis.
Thank you to Adrienne for hosting Turn the Page.......Tuesday!
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1 comment:
This sounds interesting. Something to make us think a little bit. Your list of what you do and have was fun. I grew up on a farm, doing a lot of things the old way. I've always said that my mom was born 100 years to late because she loved doing things the hard way and we all learned to be hard and reliable workers because of it. We churned our own butter, (yes, churned!), cooked on a wood cookstove, washed the clothes in a wringer washer for about a year, hung them on the line to dry almost always, among other things. Sometimes I wish to go back to those days, but I sure like my convienences as well!
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