added 1984 post

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@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ One of the interesting things about living the way we do is that we're subjected
 
 Despite the gas pumps, it seems safe to say that, living as we do in the bus, we are subjected to very little advertising. This is something I generally spend absolutely zero time thinking about until we come into major American city—something we try to avoid doing -- and I am awestruck by how much advertising there is -- it absolutely saturates the environment.
 
+## What are people for
+
+a line from Wendell Berry that has stuck with me for a long time: “it is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines
 
 
 ## Collapse notes
@@ -229,28 +232,117 @@ People have forgotten how important the sun is. You can die from lack of sun.
 
 # Stories to Tell
 
-Every little withdrawal you can make, not only resists the system, but empowers you. Yes even tiny acts like paying cash to a person rather than swiping your implant at the self checkout screen.
+## Leaving Washburn
 
----
+Sailing, blueberry season. packing up. putting the exhaust back on. wash and wax. 
 
 ## Car Show Post
 
-Someone stopped by the bus the other day to talk about it. I don't really recall what we said, probably started with the year, then the engine, then repair in general. But as he was getting ready to go he said "thanks for keeping it going". I've heard that a couple times before in one form or another, that people are happy to know it's out there.
+Someone stopped by the bus the other day to talk about it. I answered his questions, but then as he was getting ready to go he said something that stuck with me, "thanks for keeping it going". It jumped out at me because he was the second person to say that to me. *I love knowing these things are out there, still going.*
 
-I like that. I like that there are people who are just glad to know that things like the bus are still around in our world. I understand how they feel because I feel the same way. This evening I went to the grocery store in town and there was a 1960s Ford Bronco at the gas pump. I don't particularly like Broncos, I'll probably never own one, but I too am glad it's out there, still running. 
+This evening I went to the grocery store in town and there was an early 1970s-ish Ford Bronco at the gas pump. I'm not a huge fan of Broncos, I'll probably never own one, but it was my kind of car, not perfect, plenty of patina in the finish. It had been around and I thought, you know, I too am glad it's out there, still running. 
 
-Why be glad that someone else has an old car? It is a peculiar thing to think. It don't think it has anything to do with the car. It has to do with recognizing a kindred spirit in that person. In a culture that prizes the new and chucks the old without a thought, it's only a certain kind of person who appreciates the old, the time-tested, the well-worn. The things, the cars, the trucks, the buses, they're talismans perhaps, so we know each other when we see each other.
+It's not the thing though. The thing is irrelevant. *Thanks for keeping it going.* What is it? The past? Thanks for keeping this tiny thread of the past alive in the present. Thanks for the path back, thanks for keeping these things, and the memories we have that are connected to them alive. 
 
-It's not the thing though. The thing is irrelevant. *Thanks for keeping it going.* I've started saying this to people too. The it could be anything. It's the person that matters. It's their struggle to keep it going that matters. That person, all those people struggling to keep things working, maintaining them, repairing them, we share certain experiences and this is a bond.
+Nostalgia is commonly used pejoratively. The American Psychological Association considers it a subset of depression, which is, ahem, depressing. But then I guess if you're stuck trying to prop up the present as better than the past, at this point, you have to do some serious philosophical dancing. 
+
+I find it far more telling that the meaning of nostalgia has shifted over the years from the original conception of "pain, grief, and distress" from trying "to reach some place, escape, return, get home," to our more modern connotation, "wistful yearning for the past." The genuineness of grief has be replaced with the easier to dismiss *yearning*. 
+
+The word nostalgia comes from two Greek words, *algos*, which gives us the "pain, grief, distress", and *Nostos* the returning home bit. But combining these two words and then ending up with a "wistful yearning for the past," says far more about our values than anything. 
+
+*Nostos* is the part that interests me. It has an Old English cognate, *genesen*, which means "to recover." There's also the Gothic *ganisan*, which means "to heal." This is the thread I think of when I see those Broncos and Travcos, those old appliances that actually work, those old clothes not made of plastic, all these things are not a homesickness for another time or place, but a yearning to heal the present. It's a yearning to recover those elements of the past that were better than what we have today. Not nostalgically, but tangibly, demonstrably better.
+
+*Thanks for keeping it going.* Thanks for maintaining a path to healing the present. Thanks for pointing the way. 
+
+I didn't say anything to the Bronco though. There was no one around. Maybe the steel and iron understand, I think they do, but no one, including me, wants to be the weirdo talking to the car in an empty parking lot. Besides, it's the person who's maintaining that connection that matters. It's their struggle to keep that thing working that matters. All those people laboring to keep those bits of the past working in the present, that's what matters. Without them the objects are just rust and decay. Someone has to maintain them, recover them, repair them -- this is what matters. This is the bond in the present to the past. Those who keep things going understand them, understand where they came from, why they work the way the work, and what that means. You have too, otherwise you'll never be able to keep whatever it is working.
+
+This means you're constantly communing with the past. If that sounds too hippy for you, don't worry, that communication with the past often goes like this, "what #$%@ idiot wired this together with electrical tape" or words to that effect. It's not all good, the past. But most things from prior to about 1995, were made with the implicit understanding that they would, at some point in the future, need to be repaired. This was an understood part of the design process, even if the designer assumed the repair person would be "a professional".
+
+Go back a bit further and not only is that part of the design process, but there's no assumption about professionals, the assumption is that the owner would be fixing it. Read any car manual -- not the repair manual, just the owner's manual -- and you'll find the manufacturers assumed owners would change the oil, repair the brakes, and perform other basic maintenance.
+
+Somewhere in the last 30 years, we lost this culture of repair. 
+
+Actually lost is the wrong word. I believe it was a concerted effort to destroy not just the ability to repair things, but the culture of repair, the idea that repairing things is something you could and should do. 
+
+Today we live in a world where even professional mechanics can't repair some vehicles. It's so bad that Massachusetts passed a law requiring vehicle manufacturers to allow third-party repair and the United States federal government suggested that car makers not comply (the feds just changed their mind, somewhat). The primary effect of the Massachusetts law so far hasn't been what it's author's hope for though. Instead of giving mechanics and users access to the data the dealers can access, car makers like Kia and Subaru have decided to disabled their telemetric systems completely for Massachusetts drivers. The logic, if you can call it that, seems to be "if we have to give it to you, we'll just not record it, then we *can't* give it to you."
+
+This is why, in 2073, no one is ever going to see a 2023 Subaru at the gas station and say, "hey, thanks for keeping it going." The 2023 Subaru is going end up in a landfill with every other car made since about 2012.
+
+I write about cars because it's something I've come to know and love, but you can swap out car for washing machine, refrigerator, toaster, what have you and the story is the same.
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+Right now keeping it going is often a hobby, though for many of us it's an economic necessity as well. The day is coming though when it will be more than an economic necessity. It will be a necessity because there is no alternative.
+
+No one knows when that's going to be, but increasingly, I think we all feel it coming. The world as we know it is going away, and we have a front-row seat to the change. The question is, what are we going to do? 
+
+The past hundred years have been unlike anything in human history. Today you can buy things made in China for a $1 at your local hardware store. But the global trade that's made our world possible is falling apart. We aren't going to keep getting endless replacements doodads, and most of the things that surround us now can't be repaired. We're going to have to reach back, to dig the old stuff that was repairable out of the weeds and get it running again.
+
+This is where I believe the anachronists can guide us into a saner future -- by going through the past -- but that's not why I started learning to fix things and it isn't why I fix things now. 
 
-We know what it's like to bang our heads against a problem for weeks. We know the pain of seeing that white smoke coming out the valve cover vent. We understand the sense of victory when it starts up and purrs after hours of work. We know these things. 
 
-This is why I am always disappointed to meet people with classic cars who just take it to the mechanic. I know not everyone has the time or inclination to do it themselves, but I won't lie, I am always disappointed to hear it. The shared experience isn't there. They don't know. In some respects I do think perhaps you should have to earn it. 
+Where we spend our summers there are a number of campsites that are designated "seasonal", that is, the occupants, like us, have the site from the middle of May to the middle of October. As you would expect, we get to know the other seasonal people. 
+
+
+In the past things had to be repairable because replacing them would be too expensive. This is the world we will return to, but you don't have to wait for it to be forced on you. You can start now. You can get ahead of the curve. Repair is something you can learn to do right now and it has benefits *right now*, even if global trade remains a stable thing for decades to come. 
+
+
+
+It likely won't, I think we are just a couple of high profile acts of piracy away from the death of international trade as we know it. 
+
+There's nothing your or I can do about the fate the seas, but the next time the blender breaks we could have a crack at fixing it before we throw it away. Even better we could learn to do without a blender by gaining skills with a chef knife or mortar and pestle.
+
+Learning skills like this, whether to repair things or how to use older, more robust systems of doing the same task, is an investment in the future. In your future, in our future. If not you, then who? If you can repair it, then you might never need another. That's a future in which you're a little less dependant on the fragile, global systems. 
+
+I think of all skills this way. I've spent the last year teaching myself to cook over open flame, especially using a dutch oven, in part because, well, open flame is the way all cooking was done until about 100 years ago, there's that connection to the past, but also because, if we happen to run out of propane, or don't have the electricity to run the waffle iron, it really doesn't matter, so long as I can start a fire I can cook just about anything.
+
+Every withdrawal you can make from fragile systems empowers you.
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+Why be glad that someone else has an old car? It is a peculiar thing to think. I think it has to do with recognizing a kindred spirit in the person behind the car. In a culture that prizes the new and chucks the old without a thought, those of us who appreciate the old, the time-tested, the well-worn are anachronisms. We're out of pace with the world and it can be lonely to be left behind by your culture. It helps to know there are others out there like yourself. The things, the cars, the trucks, the buses, they're talismans perhaps, so we anachronists will know each other when we see each other.
+
+
+Thanks for that reminder that cars used to be objects of art rather than commodities. 
 
-It's the same with people who ask if we plan to paint it. We don't. I wouldn't if it were free. Every worn patch, every scrape, every dent and frayed bit of fiberglass has a story to it. I don't know all the stories, but I've spent a good bit of time thinking about what might have happened. I've made up some stories. I've added a few of my own. I won't erase any of them, even ones I don't know[^1]. 
 
 Making and fixing things with purpose. Extending the life of this thing is extending its potential to the world. Repair with purpose. 
 
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+We know what it's like to bang our heads against a problem for weeks. We know the pain of seeing that white smoke coming out the valve cover vent. We understand the sense of victory when it starts up and purrs after hours of work. We know these things. 
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+Will my children feel a nostalgic connection to iPads and e-bikes? Perhaps. 
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+This is why I am always disappointed to meet people with classic cars who just take it to the mechanic. I know not everyone has the time or inclination to do it themselves, but I won't lie, I am always disappointed to hear it. The shared experience isn't there. They don't know. In some respects I do think perhaps you should have to earn the talismans. 
+
+It's the same with people who ask if we plan to paint the bus. We don't. I wouldn't if it were free. Every worn patch, every scrape, every dent and frayed bit of fiberglass has a story to it. I don't know all the stories, but I've spent a good bit of time thinking about what might have happened. I've made up some stories. I've added a few of my own. I won't erase any of them, even ones I don't know[^1]. 
+
+
 [^1]: If there were rust, or something that threatened the longevity of the bus, then I would patch and paint if necessary, but fortunately that's not a factor since the bus is two giant pieces of fiberglass.
 
 ## Parts of the Whole
@@ -333,6 +425,9 @@ There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of suppo
 
 https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2023/01/heating-with-wood-as-a-habit-of-mind/
 
+The best food I've ever eaten was cooked over a campfire. 
+Ever seen people pull up lawn chairs, encircle the gas grill, roast marshmallows, and sing Kumbaya? Didn’t think so.
+
 https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/campfire-cooking/?p=22415
 
 ## loss of getting lost
@@ -341,6 +436,83 @@ https://www.vagabondjourney.com/you-cant-get-lost-anymore/
 
 # jrnl
 
+## Every Day It's 1984
+
+Nostalgia is commonly used pejoratively. As if the very idea of looking backward in time and saying, hmm, maybe we lost something between then and now were... bad? The American Psychological Association considers nostalgia a subset of depression, which is, ahem, depressing. But then I guess if you're stuck trying to prop up the present as better than the past, at this point, you have to do some serious philosophical dancing. 
+
+Whatever the case, call it what you will, but one of my goals for us in living the way we do is to provide our children with a world that resembles the world of 1984. With maybe some notable elements from 1969 thrown in. But not having lived through 1969 I can't even try to authentically replicate it. 1984 though. I know some things about 1984.
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-06_142744_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3630" class="picwide" />
+
+In 1984 no one was looking at their phones. In 1984 no one was wearing masks. In 1984 no one was wearing helmets. In 1984 no one went on play dates. In 1984 playgrounds were made of metal. In 1984 no one called the cops on kids left alone for the day. In 1984 everyone expected children to be self-governing individuals capable of surviving the day unsupervised and no one thought twice about it.
+
+This is how I grew up. It's how my peers and elders grew up, and from what I've seen of the world my peers and elders are considerably more capable individuals than the people who've grown up in the hyper-managed, ultra-safe, everyone-gets-a-trophy world kids inhabit today. 
+
+I want my kids to grow up the way we did. Yes, they get hurt sometimes. You should have seen Lilah's toe when she caught it on a root while riding her bike barefoot. It happens. One minute you're riding along, the next minute your toenail is gone. Childhood is supposed to have sharp edges and moments of pain, it's how you learn and grow.
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-08_152605_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3631" class="picwide" />
+
+I picked 1984 somewhat at random, but the point stands that part of what I want to do living this way is provide my kids with access to the freedoms that I enjoyed and give them room to figure things out for themselves, explore new places, learn new things, meet new people, and build and sustain relationships -- on their own.
+
+To be able to do this is a skill everyone has to learn, but we've had several generations now that were never given the chance to do this and... it's not good. These grown men and women are only couple steps above helpless in many cases and we're all starting to see the effects of that. When Mommy and Daddy are always there to fix things and suddenly they aren't.... 
+
+To be a self-regulating individual capable of exploring the world, learning on your own, and building friendships as you go, requires practice. It requires the space to make mistakes and find the success that builds confidence as you go. Our kids need to work things out themselves, to reason things out themselves without anyone telling them the answer. 
+
+This is a big part of why we keep coming back to Washburn. It's not just that parenting has changed since 1984. Culture changed too. We no longer have a culture that allows kids these freedoms even if the parents are willing to give them. Parents go to jail for these things in some places. Utah, Oklahoma, and Texas have actually had to [pass laws](https://reason.com/2021/05/18/texas-becomes-third-state-to-pass-free-range-kids-law/) legalizing the act of letting kids roam around unsupervised. Wisconsin has no such law that I know of, but in small towns around America the culture of letting kids roam remains much more in tact than it does in more populated areas. This is a big part of why we spend so much time on the fringes.
+
+The people we've met, the people who are here regularly, they think like we do, they grew up like we do. The sort of people who'll call the cops on an unattended child, do not come here. And so we keep coming back.
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-13_102715_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3638" class="picwide" />
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-09-02_144746_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3642" class="picwide" />
+
+This means that a good bit of what we've done this summer -- is nothing. We've stayed around town and let the kids wander the creeks, make friends, ride their bikes around town, make food over a fire, fish, swim, and whatever else they want to do.
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-11_173916_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3636" class="picwide" />
+<div class="cluster">
+    <span class="row-2">
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-11_173551_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3644" class="cluster pic66" />
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-11_173732_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3645" class="cluster pic66" />
+    </span>
+</div>
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-11_150404_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3633" class="picwide" />
+<img src="images/2023/2023-08-31_111330_around-washburn.jpg" id="image-3641" class="picwide" />
+
+
+And sure, I was there to take these pictures. I like to swim. I like to explore. But these are just a handful of moments. The kids had most of the summer to themselves. We let them wander around in a kind of mile or two radius where they could get up to whatever they wanted. I'm grateful to all their friends' parents who also let their kids roam around and to the people of Washburn who've made a community where that's possible. Where bikes won't be stolen, no one calls the cops on kids, and the world is, well, more like it was in 1984.
+
+
+
+## Little Girl's Point
+
+The rest of my family loves rock hounding. I don't even know if that's what you call it, but that's what I'm going with. They enjoy walking around, hunting for rocks. Agates are especially popular with rock lovers, and one of the best agate beaches in the area is across the lake from us, in Michigan, at place called Little Girl's point. 
+
+We were over there one Thursday afternoon, hunting for rocks on the beach. The beach sits just below a small bluff where there is a county park with some campsites. The kids asked me why we never camped there. I didn't have a good answer, so we decided we'd come back the next weekend and camp, if we could get a campsite. 
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-06-08_123408_little-girl-point.jpg" id="image-3621" class="picwide" />
+
+We somehow managed to grab probably the best site in the campground for the following weekend. Since the bus tailpipe was still being bent into shape somewhere down in Eau Claire, we loaded up the Jeep with our camping gear and headed out for a few nights in a tent. 
+
+It might seem like camping is strange thing for us to do, since we're sort of always camping. If the bus had been running, we'd have brought it, but then again sometimes it's good to change it up, get a little more primitive so you appreciate what you have the rest of the time. Although it's hard to consider yourself roughing it with views like this.
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-07-20_155734_camping-little-girls-point.jpg" id="image-3611" class="picwide" />
+
+The main difference from our usual day trip forays to Little Girl's Point, was that we were able to linger, watch the shadows lengthen, see the orange ball of evening sun sink into the smoky edges of the lake. 
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-07-20_171236_camping-little-girls-point.jpg" id="image-3614" class="picwide" />
+<img src="images/2023/2023-07-20_204023_camping-little-girls-point.jpg" id="image-3617" class="picwide" />
+
+We got to Little Girl's Point after a day of heavy rains, which turned the patches of clay soil in the bluffs into some impressively large mud pits. The kids scampered up and down the cliffs all day, looking for larger and larger mud pits to play in before jumping in the lake to rinse off and do it all over again.
+
+<img src="images/2023/2023-07-20_171640_camping-little-girls-point.jpg" id="image-3615" class="picwide" />
+<img src="images/2023/2023-07-20_150305_camping-little-girls-point.jpg" id="image-3610" class="picwide" />
+<img src="images/2023/2023-07-20_171209_camping-little-girls-point.jpg" id="image-3613" class="picwide" />
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 ## Build
 
 *When in doubt, build shelves*. Building things is an essential part of life. Shelves are easy and satisfying to build. They're useful too. Everyone needs more shelf space. Everywhere I've ever lived I built some shelves or bookcase or some sort of flat surface on which to put thing. When you're done with a shelf your life is inevitably neater and more organized and better in some small way.