Starkly in contrast to the pastoral serenity identified in the posts of fellows Riley and Barefield, I find myself strangely dissatisfied in the early pages of Ward’s See You in a Hundred Years. A pair of affluent hipsters, yearning for a new drug, grows bored with the pace of New York City and careers that provide for a Manhattan apartment and international escapades, and decides to rough it for a year. Just as he had tired of Ecuador and Kenya and small town South Carolina before that, Ward will transition from the city to the farm for a change of scenery. My skepticism seeps in early, suspecting this adventure is nothing more than an extended “expedition” for a journalist who has tired of airplanes and deadlines. The hardcover book in my hands is evidence that he has been well compensated for his most recent story before he departs from the nostalgic farm to pursue his next article.
My distrust is driven by a pair of factors. Firstly, the terminology in the early pages resembles the same rhetoric employed by sophomoric yuppies who have well grasped the verbiage and slogans of the modern environmental movement but without a clue as to what such a movement demands of us as humans. Secondly, I well identify with the dissatisfaction afforded by the modern life and find myself envious of the decisions he has made and actions he is taking. My hope is that this work will stir within me motivation on a smaller scale to alter my life in such a way as the author. My fear is that, armed with an agrarian vocabulary and resources sufficient for a year-long camping trip, Ward will endure and enjoy 1900 before engaging another adventure as the New Year rings in 2010.
It is easy in today's world to be skeptical. I get that. I am skeptical most of the time. However, when dealing with some of the themes in this book, I find myself very hypocritical. I think of some of the books I have read and resulting conversations that I have had. I read and quote Wendell Berry. And that is all I do; read and quote. My copy of "The Last American Man" is in tatter due to the many times it has been read by me and others. These are books that i would claim to have shaped some of my thinking, yet they really haven't shaped any of my practice. They mostly just lead to talk. I guess what I am saying is that I have to give credit to Ward for his year long endeavor. He is in fact "doing" something. And for that I am impressed.
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