I just buried another friend, the second this year. Seems not even Holler folk are immune to the great plague of our times—cancer—in all its forms. There are things in nature that are really bad for your health, like arsenic and mercury and hungry polar bears. Living on top of a pile of uranium, or venting radon gas would certainly be asking for trouble. However, these two good men, and millions of men and women and children in developed countries, did not die from mercury or polar bears. They died from one thing and one thing only—civilization. Cancer is not the only civilization disease. Autoimmune disorders such as crippling arthritis, MS, and so many others, are present only fractionally in so called undeveloped societies. It’s a cruel trade off for the rich lifestyle to which we have become accustomed.

Rich Lifestyle you ask? Perhaps you personally do not feel rich. Maybe you have twenty bucks in your pocket and some overused credit cards. Keep checking your pockets. Is there a driver’s license, a cell phone, a pen? How about a watch? Are you wearing shoes? Have you eaten today? Oh look! They’re not shooting at us! Congratulations. Out of all the humans who have ever walked the earth, you are one of a very few that are truly wealthy and safe. It took hundreds of thousands of years to get to this point. We have mobility, education, and communication; water, sewer, electric lights, antibiotics and virtually unlimited free access to information. We are quite spoiled, and have huge expectations regarding our personal comfort, preferred temperature range, and individual diet. Food, raw materials, and finished goods pour in from every corner of the globe to satisfy our whims. And this—all of this—is considered normal and usual and the way most people on the planet live, should live, or should want to live.

In fact, it is not normal. It is very, very unusual. For the past seven thousand years only a tiny percentage of the population could live off the sweat of those who actually did the work. Now, through labor saving devices, digital efficiencies, and the wonders of globalization, nearly two billion people can live like kings (better actually). The price to pay in heart attacks, obesity, childhood cancers, tumors in pets, and ADHD is supposedly worth it. But is it worth climate change, species extinction and the destruction of worldwide ecosystems?

The answer of course is a resounding no—it is not worth it. A few years of comfort is not worth the destruction of our home planet as we know it. People around the country sense this of course. That is why they are leaving the cities in a steady stream seeking a bit of paradise in the Holler. Enough of them discover this little piece of God’s Earth and it will start to resemble every other subdivision in the northeast, just with 10 acre zoning.

I don’t have any practical answers to life’s persistent questions. We may be beyond that already. If you really want to be part of the solution get yourself fixed, in the reproductive sense. Walk away from the money. Walk away from the stress. But please, good people, everyone can’t live in the Holler!

These essays were written for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Vermont Soap, its employees, board of directors, our Web host, Web designer, the neighbors who live up the road; or any of the thousands of people who use our stuff. Originally published in edited form by Comic News. Many thanks to Seasoned Books, without which, life in the Holler may never have become a reality.