With apologies to the band 'Rush' for the title of this post, it is none-the-less more appropriate than any other. You see, today was Earth Day and I found The Last American Man working a piece of wild cherry into a utensil on Sanford Mall. Yup. I found Eustace Conway again. Don't know him? He founded Turtle Island Preserve This quote sums him up, almost:
"Like Thoreau, Eustace has gone to the woods to live deliberately, fronting only the essential facts of life, to see if he could not learn what it had to teach, and not when he came to die discover that he had not lived. He has lived in the woods for over 20 years. He learns by visiting extremes; once when Eustace severely cut his thumb, he sewed it back together with twelve stitches, and used plant medicine."
Most outsiders adore Eustace. The rest of us appreciate his marketing genius as well as his ability to turn hillbilly living into a commodity. Heck, even Tom Sawyer could only convince others to do his hard work for a limited amount of time. Yet City folks still queue to have Eustace allow 'em to do the really grubby hard ass work of mountaineer living after a decade and half. Still, Blogs and the mainstream media continue to be amazed at his choice of everyday life.
But, who can blame them. Eustace has an affectious personality. Personally, I like his smile. Sigh.
( A personal note to Dr. Fletcher via the BRB from Eustace Conway: Dr. Fletcher, Your photography class still stays with me after all these years. It tickles me to be able to pass this message along to you through a blog, whatever that is. The word 'blog' sounds like 'blob,' like a mass bigger than I know what to do with. Still, I hope you are well. Eustace)
