We've changed as a society

A couple weeks ago, I lost a cousin I've known for most of my life. Dad would drive up and visit Arlene's parents up at Cody, Nebraska, several times a year. It was a good drive back then. It was about 40 miles to Hyannis and 70 or so to Merriman and then say 20 or 30 to Cody. Pretty darn good ways when Dad's top speed was say 50 miles an hour and his side of the road was down the middle. I can't say much cause I drive about the same speed as Dad -- slow! It was sad to see where she had passed away, but she had lived a good fairly long life. She was born in 1934. Her parents were born around the turn of the century or close to 1900. Arlene's Mom was Dad's sister, and Dad was born in 1903. Long time ago.

Back then settlers came to Nebraska to live and settle a pretty much unpopulated state. When they moved in they had to pretty much exist on their own without outside assistance. Some moved into communities where neighbors helped the new settlers, which made life a whole lot easier. Some were on their own. So they had to grow their own groceries so to speak. All of them had a garden. Not some of them, but all off them had a garden. All of them had chickens with many raising turkeys. Most had a milk cow or two or more. Many raised cattle or sheep. Some tried to farm a little and raise crops such as corn. Having food for the winter depended on their ability to grow their own groceries. This was especially true in the western states.

Since then we have generation after generation slowly quit gardening and being self-sufficient. Gardens quit being important and slowly became hobby gardens. A few tomatoes and cucumbers and a mess or two of green beans and that's about all. We started relying on the local grocery stores for most everything. We may have a couple three chickens, but they are pets.

I grew up in the middle of the 1900s in a sparsely populated part of Nebraska, so Mom and Dad would drive to Ogallala (45 miles away) a couple times a month at most if not once a month and that was for groceries as well as necessities. Maybe cattle feed or meds for either the cattle or one of us. Usually clothes were bought mainly once a year, and that was before school started. When I was little, shoes were those canvas dark blue ones. Later as we got older they bought us cowboy boots. Blue jeans were the normal wear. We had clothes but not piles of them. In the summer, I remember wearing the same pants for about a week before Mom washed them in the old wringer washer. They were dirty and smelly.

But even in the mid 1900s there was a movement to the cities. The cities began to grow by leaps and bounds, and more and more people wanted off the farms and ranches. They were trading the rural life for the city. This has gotten worse and worse. Many find city life the place to be, but some like me want no part of the city. Some are moving back to rural areas but mainly to escape city life and concentrated humanity.

Now today, most folks can't go a week without groceries. When a storm is forecast down here in Southeast Missouri, there is a run on bread and milk, and the stores run out. The shelves are bare. Storms don't last but a couple days so what's the urgency unless they don't have the foods to last several days? Honestly we have grown totally dependent on getting everything at the last moment as the need arises. Day-by-day existence. When the shelves are bare of bread Marge gets the flour and mixer out and makes some bread. I'm betting a good number in America today have never made bread from scratch.

But we have positioned ourselves so as to be almost totally dependent on others for our daily needs. We totally rely on electrical companies for the benefits they provide. Gas for our vehicles or homes is a must have. Groceries from grocery stores is a must have. Most don't want to grow a garden or raise some chickens or ducks or raise a few goats or sheep. To be relatively self-sufficient takes a lot more work than driving to the store for everything one needs. We have become lazy. But the thing is most don't have the land to raise a garden or the knowledge or even the desire. Most live on lots that amount to maybe a seventh of an acre or a plot of ground that's 60 by 100 feet. An acre is about 207 feet by 207 feet. A garden that's 20' by 40' or 30' by 60' or even 10' by 20' would make a huge difference in one's food supply.

Probably 15 years or so ago I was fortunate enough to go with a group to Russia to work on a church over there. While there we were allowed to tour Moscow and now and then drive out in the outskirts of the cities. Every now and then there would be a small plot of ground with a kind of shack right by the road. The shack looked like a chicken house to me. Our tour guide said city residents would purchase or rent these small plots of ground say 50' by 100' to get out of the city on the weekend and to grow some vegetables. The little shack was to live in or camp in for a couple days a week. They found a way to grow a garden.

Maybe one of your friends or neighbors has a previously used garden plat. See if you can rejuvenate it. There are elderly individuals who used to garden but simply are unable to anymore because of physical problems. Offer to grow a garden for shares. Walk around where you live and really look where you might grow a vegie. Doesn't have to be a big spot but big enough for a tomato or two. Do some checking on growing a container garden. Containers are inexpensive, and garden soil is inexpensive. Just this morning I received an email on what veggies to grow in a container garden. Start a community garden on an unused lot in your community. About all you'd need is some water, a way to till the ground and enough help to grow a garden. Most of the time, elbow grease is the most important ingredient. Seems like we are real short on elbow grease now day.

I guess it all boils down to whether the "want to" is greater than the "don't have the time" or "don't want to bother" or "I'd rather not."