Lifestyle changes

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In America, many people have romantic feelings about country life. Many people living in towns dream of running their own farms and living on land. Few people really turn their dreams into reality. Perhaps this is not wrong, because as Jim Doherty experienced when he started his dual career of writing and farm management, agricultural life is far from easy. But he wrote that he had no regrets and remained enthusiastic about the decision to change his lifestyle.

Dougherty created his ideal life.

Sam Dougherty

There are two things I've always wanted to do-writing and farming. Now I am doing these two things at the same time. As a writer, I am not in the same class as E B White, and as a farmer, I am not in the same class as my neighbors, but I can handle it well. After years of disappointment in cities and suburbs, my wife Sandy and I finally found spiritual satisfaction in the countryside here.

This is a self-reliant life. Almost all the fruits and vegetables we eat are grown by ourselves. Home-raised chickens provide eggs, and dozens of them can be left for sale every week. Our own bees provide honey, and we also cut wood ourselves, which is enough to keep warm in winter.

This is also a satisfying life. In summer, we go boating on the river, have a picnic in the Woods and roam the time by bike. We ski and skate in winter. The afterglow of the sunset excited us. We like to smell the warmth of the earth and listen to the cow's Cleisthenes. We watched the eagle fly across the sky and the deer jump in the cornfield.

But such a beautiful life can sometimes become quite difficult. Just three months ago, the temperature dropped to MINUS 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and we worked hard for two whole days, hauling firewood along the river with sleds. In three months, the temperature will rise to 95 degrees, and we will loosen the soil for corn, weed the strawberry fields and slaughter poultry. Sandy and I had to renovate the back roof not long ago. After that, two of the four children, Jimmy, aged 16, and Emily, aged 13, will help me repair the long-delayed outdoor toilet, which was specially built for outdoor work. Later this month, we will spray chemicals on the fruit trees, paint the barn, plant seeds in the vegetable garden and clean the henhouse before the new chickens arrive.

Between these jobs, I will take time to spend 50 or 60 hours a week as a freelance writer typing or interviewing articles for newspapers. Sandy has her own busy work schedule. In addition to daily housework, she has to take care of the vegetable garden and beehives, bake bread, can and freeze food, drive the children to learn music and practice with them. She will also give me organ lessons, do some research and typing, sometimes write her own articles, take care of flower beds, make firewood and transport eggs. As the old saying goes, in this case, the bad guys can't be idle-even the sages can't rest.

None of us will forget the first winter. From June+February to the end of March in 5438, we were trapped by snow as deep as 5 feet. Snowstorms raged, one after another, and houses and barns were covered with thick snow. While indoors, we lit a fire with our own firewood and ate our own apples, which made us warm and happy every minute.

There were two floods after spring. Once the river flooded, many of our fields were flooded for several weeks. Then the growing season came, and waves of agricultural products poured in, which made us overwhelmed. Our refrigerator is stuffed with cherries, blueberries, strawberries, asparagus, peas, green beans and corn. Then our shelves and cabinets for canned food began to be filled with canned pickled food, including tomato juice, grape juice, plums, jam and jelly. Finally, the cellar is full of piles of potatoes, gourds and pumpkins, and the barn is full of apples and pears. It's really amazing.

The next year, we planted more crops and lived almost on firewood cut from our own forests and only 65,438+000 gallons of fuel. At that time, I began to seriously consider quitting my job and engaging in freelance writing. The timing is really bad. At that time, our two eldest daughters, Sean and Amy, were studying in expensive Ivy League schools, and our bank account was only a few thousand dollars. But we keep going back to the old question: will there really be a better time? There is no doubt about the answer. So, with my boss's blessing and half a year's salary in my pocket as accumulated allowance, I left.

Since then, there have been some anxious moments, but on the whole, the situation is much better than we expected. In order to write articles with different contents, I climbed into the black bear's nest for Sports Illustrated. Dog sled team of Smithsonian periodical; Investigated the truth of lake champlain monster for Science Digest; Rowing for Terminal magazine through a public wilderness reserve in Minnesota's border waters between the United States and Canada.

I earned a lot when I didn't have a full-time job, but now we don't need so much money as before. I earn enough money to pay the mortgage of $600 a month and the daily expenses of my family. Those expenses include all expenses, such as music class tuition, dentist's bill, car maintenance and college expenses. As for insurance, we bought a major medical insurance for low-income people. We need to pay the initial $500 for any medical expenses of each family member, and the medical insurance will pay 80% of the excess. Although we still have to pay a small amount of medical expenses, our insurance premium is also very low-only $560 a year-and we have bought serious illness insurance for ourselves. We don't have any insurance except this insurance item and the insurance of two cars at 400 dollars a year. However, we set aside $2,000 a year for personal pension stickers.

We make up the income gap by saving money without significantly lowering our living standards. We still go out to eat once or twice a month, but now we go to local restaurants instead of high-end restaurants in the city. We still go to Milwaukee to see operas and ballet performances, but only a few times a year. We eat less meat, drink less wine and watch less movies. The extravagant Christmas became a memory, and we took the completion of the manuscript as part of our holiday. ...

I don't think all people who love the country will be happy to live our lives. This kind of life needs some special qualities. One is to be able to withstand loneliness. Because we are so busy and short of money, we seldom treat guests. During the growing season, there is no time for social activities. Although Jimmy and Emily take part in various school activities, they stay at home most of the time.

Another requirement is physical strength-considerable physical strength. The way to achieve self-sufficiency on a small scale is to resist the temptation to buy tractors and other expensive labor-saving machinery. But do it yourself. Our only machines (excluding lawn mower) are a small rotary cultivator with 3 horsepower and a 16 inch chain saw.

No one knows how long we can stay here-maybe a long time, maybe not. When it is time to leave, we will leave sadly, but we will also be deeply proud of what we have done. We will also make a lot of money by selling the farm. We have invested about $35,000 in the farm ourselves. If we sell it now, the price can almost double. But now is not a good time to sell. But once the economic situation improves, the demand for farms like ours will increase again.

But we didn't move here mainly to make money. We live here because we want to improve the quality of life. When I watched Emily pick eggs at night, go fishing by the river with Jimmy, or enjoy an old-fashioned picnic in the orchard with the whole family, I knew we had found the lifestyle we had been looking for.

Second unit

Civil rights hero

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In 2004, a center to commemorate the "Underground Railway" will be established in Cincinnati. This railway is unusual. It doesn't sell tickets and there is no train running. However, it sends thousands of passengers to their dream destinations.

Give people freedom.

Fergus Bodevich

I stepped out of this two-story hut, and there was a slight breeze on the Canadian plain. I was surrounded by a slim woman in black, a guide who took me back to the past. At that time, a hero in American history lived in Reston, Ontario. We went to an ordinary gray church, and Barbara Carter proudly talked about her great-grandfather Josiah Henson. "He firmly believes that God wants all men to be created equal. He never stopped fighting for this freedom. "

Carter's loyalty to his ancestors is not only related to his own pride, but also to family honor. Because josiah Henson is still known today, it is precisely because of his creative inspiration that an American novel character came out: Uncle Tom, Harriet and Beecher Stowe, docile slaves in Uncle Tom's cabin. Ironically, everything that this character symbolizes can't be found in Henson. A black man who doesn't want to fight and betray his race? Carter was quite indignant about this. "josiah Henson is a man of principle," she said firmly.

I came all the way to Henson's last residence, which has now become a historical site that Carter once managed, to learn more about this man who can be called African-American Moses in many ways. Henson liberated himself from slavery, and then secretly helped many other slaves escape to the king of Thailand in Canada in the north. Many people settled in Dresden with him.

But this place is just a stop on my heavy mission. Josiah Henson is just one name in a long line of fearless men and women who jointly created this "Underground Railway", a secret network of escape routes and reliable families, aiming at liberating slaves in the southern United States. During the period from 1820 to 1860, as many as100000 slaves went to freedom through this road.

From June, 5438 to October, 2000 10, President Clinton approved the appropriation of160,000 dollars to build the national "underground railway" freedom center to commemorate the first great civil rights struggle in American history. The center is scheduled to be completed in Cincinnati in 2004. It's time to set up such a center. Because the heroes of the underground railway are still unknown, their achievements are still unknown. I want to tell their story.

John Parker looked nervous when he heard a light knock at the door. He opened the door to peep and recognized a reliable neighbor in the night. "There are a group of escaped slaves hiding in the Woods of Kentucky, only twenty miles from the river," the man whispered in an urgent tone. Parker didn't hesitate. "I'll go," he said, putting two pistols in his pocket.

Twenty years ago, in the 1920s of 1.9, Parker, who was born a slave, was taken away from his mother at the age of eight and forced to walk from Virginia to Alabama in chains, where he was bought from the slave market. Determined to live a free life one day, he managed to learn the cast iron craft. Later, he finally saved enough money and redeemed his freedom by this craft. Now, Parker works in a foundry in ripley Harbor, Ohio by day. At night, he became a "flight attendant" on the underground railway, helping people avoid those who chased runaway slaves. In Kentucky, where he was going, the authorities offered a reward of 1000 dollars to catch him, whether he was alive or dead.

On that cold night, Parker crossed the Ohio River and found ten fugitives. "Take the package and come with me," he told them, and took the eight men and two women to the river. Just before landing, a night watchman found them and ran to report.

When Parker saw a boat, he shouted and pushed the escaped slave onto the boat. Everyone got on the boat, only two people couldn't hold on. As the boat slowly sailed to the other side, Parker watched helplessly as the pursuers surrounded the two people he was forced to leave behind.

Everyone else went ashore, and Parker quickly arranged a car to take them to the next "station" of the underground railway-the first stop of their trip to Canada. John Parker led more than 400 slaves to safety in his life.

Black people tend to be flight attendants because of their own painful experiences, while those white people are often inspired by religious beliefs. Levi Coffin, a Quaker who grew up in North Carolina, explained: "The Bible only asks us to give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked, but it doesn't mention skin color."

/kloc-in the 1920s of 0/9, Coffin moved westward to Newport, Indiana (today's Fountain City), where he opened a small shop. Legend has it that escaped slaves can always find shelter in Covent's house. Sometimes he sheltered as many as seventeen fugitives at a time, and he also prepared a group of people and vehicles to send them to the next trip. Later, the three main routes met at Covent's house, which became the central station of the underground railway.

Coffin is often threatened with being killed because of his work and warned to burn down his shop and house. Almost every stewardess faces similar dangers-or worse. In the north, the sheriff will impose fines or short-term imprisonment on those who help escape. In southern States, whites were sentenced to months or even years in prison. Calvin Fairbank, a brave Methodist minister, was imprisoned in Kentucky for more than 17 years. He recorded the beatings: he was whipped 35,654,38+005 times.

As for those black slaves, escaping means traveling hundreds of miles and crossing unfamiliar areas where they are easily recognized. There are no road signs and almost no road maps. They all rely on the routes and signals that have been told to each other, such as nails nailed to trees, which are the signals for flight attendants to mark the route to the north with Song.

Many slaves marched under the cover of night, sometimes with thick white powder on their faces. Quakers often make their "passengers" wear gray clothes, deep hats and veils that completely cover their heads, both men and women. Once, levi Covent transported so many fugitive slaves that he dressed them up as a funeral procession.

Canada is the preferred destination for many fugitives. 1833 slavery was abolished there, and the Canadian authorities encouraged fugitive slaves to settle in their vast uncultivated land. Among them is Josiah Henson.

As a child, Henson witnessed the whole family being sold to different owners in Maryland, and saw his mother being beaten to keep herself in alone with her. Henson took advantage of every opportunity given him by fate, worked hard and was highly valued by his master.

Financial difficulties finally forced Henson's master to send him, his wife and children to a brother in Kentucky. After working hard there for several years, Henson heard a terrible news: the new owner would sell him to the far south hinterland to work on the farm. This slave will be separated from his family forever.

There is only one way to go: escape. "I will recognize the North Star," Hansen wrote years later. "Like the savior of Bethlehem, it tells me where I can be saved."

Henson and his wife took great risks and took their four children on the road. Two weeks later, the hungry and tired family came to Cincinnati, where they got in touch with members of the underground railway. "They provided us with accommodation and care, and then drove us 30 miles."

The Hensons continued to go north and finally came to Buffalo, New York. There, a friendly captain pointed to the other side of niagara river. "'See those trees?' He said, "They grew up in the land of freedom. He gave Hansen a dollar and arranged a boat to take the slaves and their families across the river to Canada.

"I threw myself on the ground, rolled in the sand and danced. Finally, several people present decided that I was crazy. "He's crazy," said Colonel Warren. "

"'no, it's not! Do you know that?/You know what? "I am free!" "

Third unit

security issue

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Many years ago, in the United States, it was common for every household to leave the door unlocked day and night. In this article, Green laments that people no longer trust each other and have to rely on complex security equipment to protect themselves and their property.

Lock in the country

Bob green

When I was a child at home, our front door was always unlocked at night. I don't know if this is a local saying or if everyone says so; "Don't lock the door" means cover the door, but don't lock it. None of us carry keys; The last person to go home at night closes the door, that's all.

Those days are gone forever. In rural areas and cities, doors are no longer closed or open, even at night.

In many ways, suburbs and rural areas are even more vulnerable to attacks than well-patrolled city streets. Statistics show that the crime rate in those areas that are said to be peaceful is rising faster than that in towns. In any case, the era when the front door was left unlocked is gone forever.

Instead, anti-theft locks, protective chains, electronic alarm systems and alarm devices connected to police stations or private security companies. Many people in the suburbs have installed glass sliding door on their balconies, and there are exquisite steel bars inside, so no one can pry open the doors.

In the warmest home, you can often see a small notice posted on the window saying that the house is supervised by a security agency or security company.

Lock has become a new symbol of America. Indeed, the recent public service advertisement of a large insurance company did not show how dangerous we are, but used a picture of a stroller with a padlock.

The advertisement points out that, yes, the insurance company pays for the stolen goods, but who will compensate for the influence of the new atmosphere of mutual distrust and fear on our lifestyle? Who will make spiritual compensation for the transformation of the United States from a free country to a locked country?

Because this is the status quo. We have become so accustomed to protecting ourselves from the new atmosphere of American life, so accustomed to setting up obstacles that we have no time to think about what all this means.

For some reason, when we feel well protected, we feel relaxed; We didn't think to ask ourselves: Why? Why should we isolate ourselves from our neighbors and residents living in the same city? When did all this start to dominate our lives?

All this really dominates our lives. If you work in a large or medium-sized company, you may not be able to go in and out at will. You may carry some kind of access card, electronic or something, because this card allows you to enter and leave the workplace. Maybe the security guard at the front desk knows your face and lets you in with a wave of his hand on weekdays, but it is obvious that the company you work for is under threat, so you should use these "keys" to keep outsiders away.

This phenomenon does not always exist. Even ten years ago, most private companies still used free visits. At that time, managers never thought that the appropriate means was not to trust others.

Look at the surrounding airports. In the past, parents often took their children to the boarding gate to watch planes take off and land. It won't happen again. The airport is no longer an interesting place to study; They have become places with the most advanced security systems.

With the electronic perspective device, it seems that we have finally come up with a clever plan to keep terrorists away, whether they are real terrorists or imaginary terrorists. Solving this problem is a great relief, so we don't think much about what this situation means to our quality of life. Now we have passed these electronic searchers without looking at them; These devices and everything they stand for have won.

Our residential area is under the strong light source; We don't even want to give ourselves such a small enjoyment as shadows.

More and more businessmen are buying new machines that can analyze the caller's voice and connect to the phone. It is said that the machine can let a businessman know whether his friends or customers are lying, and the probability of making mistakes is very small.

All this is done in the name of "safety": this is what we tell ourselves. We are afraid, so we try to lock our fears out, and we believe that this is the meaning of security.

In fact, it is not; Despite all these security measures, we are probably the most insecure citizens in the history of human civilization. What better word can describe the lifestyle we are forced to choose? In this confusing new era, what can better express our inner fears?

We don't trust anyone. Housewives in the suburbs hang anti-rape whistles on the key chains of family travel cars. We became so smart in self-defense, and in the end all of us were smarter than ourselves. We may shut out evil; But by doing so, we locked ourselves in.

That may be the most memorable spiritual legacy when we look back on this era in the future: in response to the invisible fears among us, we became our own prisoners. In our troubled times, everyone is a prisoner.

Fourth unit

Alien

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It's just a mistake, a stupid mistake, the kind that everyone makes. Only from now on, there will be no more space tourists visiting the earth. Never again.

River and lake areas

Isak Asimov

There will be no more space tourists coming. Aliens will never land on the earth-at least not anymore.

I'm not pessimistic. In fact, aliens have landed on the earth. I know this. There may be many spaceships shuttling between millions of planets in the universe, but they will never come to us again. I also know that. And all this was caused by a ridiculous mistake.

Let me explain.

This is actually Bart Cameron's fault, so you need to know about Bart Cameron. He's the sheriff of Ungar Ridge, Idaho, and I'm his deputy. Bart Cameron is a grumpy person, and he is more likely to get angry when he has to figure out how much income tax he should pay. You see, besides being a sheriff, he also runs a grocery store and owns a share in sheep farm. At the same time, he also enjoys disabled veterans allowance (knee injury) and other similar allowances. In this way, his personal income tax is naturally complicated to calculate.

It wouldn't be so bad if he asked the tax official to help him fill out the form, but he had to fill it out himself, so he was full of complaints. Every April 14, he becomes inaccessible.

That UFO landed in April 1956, all wet.

I watched it land. At that time, my chair was leaning against the wall of the sheriff's office. I looked at the stars outside the window and wondered whether I should go to bed after work or continue to listen to Cameron's constant scolding. He is checking the column number he filled in the tax bill for the first time127th.

At first, it looked like a meteor, then the light became wider and wider, and it became two things like rocket jets. That thing fell without making a sound.

Two people came out.

I can't talk or do anything. I can't breathe, I can't signal with my hands, and I can't even open my eyes. I just sat there.

Cameron. He never looked up again.

Someone knocked at the door. The door opened and two men from the UFO came in. If I hadn't seen UFOs land, I would have thought they were from this town. They are wearing gray suits, white shirts and dark reddish-brown ties. They wear black shoes and hats, have black skin, black curly hair and brown eyes. Both of them look very serious. They are about 5 feet 10 inch tall and look alike.

God, I'm so scared.

But when the door opened, Cameron just looked up and frowned. "What can I do for you, man?" He said that he was obviously busy patting the tax bill with his hand.

One of them stepped forward and said, "We have been observing your people for a long time." He spoke word for word carefully.

Cameron said, "My people? My wife is the only one. What did she do? "

The man in the suit said, "We chose this place as the first contact point because it is remote and quiet. We know that you are the leader here. "

"If you mean the sheriff, I am. If you have anything to say, just tell me what trouble you are in? "

"We are very cautious, follow your clothing style and even adopt your appearance. We also learned your language. "

You can see an understanding expression on Cameron's face. He said, "Are you two foreigners?" Cameron doesn't like foreigners very much After leaving the army, he didn't see many foreigners, but on the whole, he tried his best to be fair. .

The UFO bearer said, "Foreigners? That's right. We come from the water town you call Venus. "

Cameron said without blinking an eye, "All right. This is America. Regardless of race, color and nationality, we are all equal here. I'm always at your service. What can I do for you? "

"We hope that you will immediately contact your country, an important person in the United States, and come here to discuss joining our great organization."

Cameron's face turned red. "We join sparse organizations. We are already members of the United Nations, and God knows what else. I think I went to the president, huh? Now? Come to Ungar Send an urgent letter? " He looked at me as if he wanted to see a smile on my face, but if someone pulled the chair away from behind me at this moment, I wouldn't fall to the ground.

The UFO bearer said, "It's not too late."

"Do you want Congress to come? What about the Supreme Court? "

"If it helps, sheriff."

Cameron is really angry now. He slammed the tax bill on the table and shouted, "Well, you're messing with me. I don't have time to pester you smart people, especially foreigners. " If you don't leave here at once, I'll lock you up for disturbing the peace and never let you out. "

"Do you want us to leave?" Asked the Venusian.

"Roll at once! Get out, go home, and don't come back. I don't want to see you. No one here wants to see you. "

Two people looked at each other.

The former spokesman went on to say, "I can see that you really don't want to be disturbed." We never want to impose our own or our organization's views on unexpected recipients. We respect your personal freedom and leave at once. We'll never come back. We will issue a warning around your earth, and no one will come again. "

Cameron said, "Sir, that's enough. Stop talking nonsense. I count to three-"

The two men turned away, and of course I knew what they said was true. I've been listening to them, but Cameron hasn't. He only thinks about his tax bill, but I seem to know what's on their minds. Do you understand what I mean? I know that a barrier will be erected around the earth so that others can't enter.

I can't talk until they're gone-it's too late. I shouted, "My God, Cameron, they are from space. Why did you drive them away? "

"From space!" He stared at me.

I shouted, "Look!" I still don't understand what's going on He was 25 pounds heavier than me, but I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the window.

He didn't resist in shock. When he came to his senses and seemed to want to knock me down, he just saw the scene outside the window and couldn't breathe.

They are getting into the flying saucer, and those two people, the flying saucer is there, you know, big, round and shiny, quite spectacular. Then the UFO took off. It rises gently and skillfully, like a feather, while emitting orange light. The light is getting stronger and stronger, the flying saucer is getting smaller and smaller, and finally it becomes a meteor and gradually disappears.

I said, "Sheriff, why did you drive them away? They want to see the president. Now they will never come back. "

Cameron said, "I think they are foreigners. They said, learn our language. And what they said is inexplicable. "

"Hum, come on, still a foreigner."

"They say they are foreigners and they look like Italians. I thought they were Italian. "

"How can they be Italian? They said they were from Venus. Did I hear that? They said so. "

"Venus." His eyes are getting more and more round.

"They say so. They call it a water town or something. You know, there is a lot of water on Venus. "

So you see, it's just a mistake, a stupid mistake, the kind that everyone makes. It's just that no Venusians will visit the earth from now on. Cameron's a fool, and his fucking tax bill!

I heard him muttering, "Venus! When they said water town, I thought they meant Venice!