Moving Out

I’ve lived all around the US at various times, but was born in Long Island, NY & spent most of my life in north-central MD. I remember our small farm out by Lake Ronkonkoma. We had a couple of horses and used to ride through the surrounding fields. I went back maybe 10 years later & the farm was a bunch of houses, the surrounding fields had more houses & a strip mall.

Thirty years later, the same thing had happened where I lived in north central Maryland. Traffic was horrible as the original roads had twenty times the traffic. I didn’t know most of the people I’d meet in the local hardware store any more. There is farmland around, but all those moving out to take advantage of ‘country living’ have ruined the area. They want street lights, curbs, sidewalks and a McDonalds. Watch them get behind a combine or a hay wagon. They’ll wet themselves as they are forced to slow down and can’t pass. Watch them pass a horse and rider on the road – half the time the idiots beep their horn – and slowing down isn’t even a passing thought.

I got tired of the rat race on the east coast. It’s become wall-to-wall city slickers, all who seem to think another law is the answer to every problem. They’re building mansions on 5 acres of old field and usually aren’t home to enjoy it because they’ve stretched themselves beyond their means. All their kids are perfect little angles and they’d never dream of actually hitting the little brat to teach it some manners – they appeal to its ‘better nature’ instead – like any young animal is born with a moral sense.

I’ve looked for years to find a place that was rural and had a decent job market. My son and his wife found one, mentioned it to me and we were off. Within 6 months, even in the current, lousy real estate market, we’d sold our half acre home in MD and moved 10 hours away to 15 acres in central KY. I found a good job before the first week was over.

I see the same seeds of growth here though. This area is very similar to where I lived in MD about 25 years ago. The 15 acres we have was once part of a much larger farm that was mostly sold in 5 acre lots. The people are still country minded, though. They slow down for animals. Tractors are almost as common on the roads as cars. The neighbors stop to chat or at least wave as they go by.