This place is a trip.
The Farm has always had an open visitor policy.
It's pretty far out to meet the 300 or so people who come through in a season. They are all unique. Each one learns something here, and we learn something from them.
One thing they have in common is that they are all searching for something.
There do seem to be a few broad categories they fall into though;
The Idealist says "Hi, I just became a vegetarian, and I've decided your lifestyle is perfect for me. I want to be a member and live there forever."
People in this category seem to think we have all the answers, that we are spiritually evolved beyond the ego that Humanity mind-fucks itself with, and that we dance in the flowers with the unicorns all day.
They are typically crushed when they figure out that we work, we do stupid selfish things like all the other humans, and that ultimately they need to take responsibility for creating their own perfect reality. Bummer, man.
I used to fall into this category, and I STILL haven't seen a unicorn. WTF?
The Last Option says "Hi, I just lost my job, my house, my family hates me and I've burned all the rest of my bridges. Can I come live with you?"
These people are desperate. They usually have drug, alcohol, or mental problems (or all of the above) It is hard to get them to leave. Even telling them directly that their visit is over doesn't work well. They find a way to weasel a few more days out of us "I'm waiting for my disability check to be sent here. It's in the mail."
They seem to believe that if they just hang around long enough we'll let them stay.
We're not Nazis, but eventually they get escorted to a new location (kinda like pesky 'coons)
The Privileged have never had to cook anything more complex than a Hot Pocket. They don't understand that Mommy isn't here to pick up after them. They get miffed when expected to sleep on a mattress on the floor *gasp* or ride bitch in a pickup truck, or do any sort of manual labor.
They usually leave kinda pissed after a couple days because we make them wash dishes (using hot water and soap, of all things)and the Farm doesn't stock Hot Pockets.
We don't have a microwave either.
The Wary but Interested generally have their shit together. They know society is fucked up and are tired of it. They are looking for a better way to be. They come with resources and an open mind. They are considerate of others. They gather information and make an educated decision about whether community is right for them. They don't often stay, but it's usually a good thing when they do.
The Drifters usually come unannounced or last minute. They are an eclectic mix of homeless, eco-terrorists, Deadheads, Rainbow Family, hitchhiking weed trimming hippies. A very few of them are total wack-jobs, but they're generally cool, always have interesting stories, are usually very willing to work, and grateful for whatever food and shelter we provide. I have a lot more respect now for homeless hitchhiking gutter punks. Say what you will, but they are resourceful and don't ask for much.
They hang out for a while, then drift off to the next Rainbow gathering/harvest season/music festival.
The Tourists take lots of pictures. They have a passing interest in community, but mostly just wanna see flowers and naked hippies. If asked to work, they stand there and take pictures of us working. Field trips and media articles/documentaries fall into this category too.
They don't usually stay long, but I feel like an exotic zoo animal while they're here.
The Disenchanted Gen-Xers are out there, but I'd like to see more of them. They have skills and a burning hatred for the system that ass-raped them repeatedly and left them for dead. They will work their butts off because they believe so strongly in building a better system. Sometimes they have anger issues, and can be very judgmental. My buddy Demon falls into this category, and so do I. "Zach" just showed up from this category too.
Sometimes they try so hard they burn themselves out. That's what happened to Chef, and is happening to Demon.
I better watch that one. It'll be fine. "Relax and have fun" is at the top of my 'to do' list.
Visitors of any type are often scheduled to work in the Garden, since that is one of the few supervised areas that always has work to do. Trial by pitchfork is a decent way to test their mettle, but I gotta watch 'em pretty close, and give very specific instructions. (Twist the cucumber and gently pull at a 90 degree angle to the vine...don't just PULL)
Sometimes it's wildly amusing to watch homeless anarchists have conversations with momma's boys fresh out of the basement.
Sometimes visitors have amazing insights about society in general and the human condition.
Sometimes I need to confirm the identity of a lemon for them.
But at least they leave the farm with the ability to correctly identify citrus.
Always I learn again that I am very judgmental (and often anti-social). I'm working on that.
Oh humanity.
You're such a beautiful mess.
Some people are too picky! No unicorns, but based on the picture, you had a visitation from an earth spirit! Based on its expresion it appears to be ambiguous about the state of affairs. LOL
ReplyDeleteI have known a few drifters. In their own way, they are pros at what they do. In a better economy, you see them in construction from time-to-time because it still tends to be a no questions asked industry.
I am in that fuzzy place between the baby boom and Gen X. I get placed in both depending on where you draw the line. But growing up in the northeast, I was clearly after the hope of promise and change that was the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Generation X under normal generation birth cycle fluctuations would have been an excellent time to be born. If you look at the preceding low birth rate time generation (the 1930s) they did very well.
But the debt binge that slowly ramped up in the 1970s, allowed what should have been a very hard pressed generation (the boomers) to do better than they should: but at the expense of the generations behind them. This combines with the ending of the WW2 rebuild tended to make for a lot of promises of prosperity that turned flat. When they turned flat had a lot to do with where you lived. If you were in the "rust belt" it was obviously problematic by the mid-1970s. If you live in some areas of the southeast, you may still be unaware of any issues.
In fairness to the Boomers, some of their excesses were attempts to expand the wealth of our society to a larger group within it. The collapse is particularly hard on them as they very few "working" years in which to recover. Most of the internet prepper crowd is in the boomer generation, but they have a lower post high school levels of education then the typical internet crowd. So most of them are the boomers that only got a small taste of the good life. Outside of the crowd just comming of age now, they likely fall in the catagory in which the disparity between promise and end result where greatest.
Well I'm definitely a "disenchanted Gen-Xer". Skills and burning hatred pretty well sums it up. I'm about ready to build me a camper for the back of my truck and say to hell with it all. Got a parking spot next to the van?
ReplyDelete@ Russell, yeah, I talk to a lot of interested Boomers too. People who have taken "early retirement" voluntarily (or not). The majority of people who come here are in their 20's, followed by those in their 50's or 60's. I think there are quite a few Boomers out there that remember the hippie days fondly, and think about the "back to the land" movement as times get financially tougher for them.
ReplyDeleteMore and more aging boomers are unable to afford health insurance and keep a roof over their heads.
@Mayberry
There is a spot next to my van.
You'd love it out here, if you could tolerate all the hippies. This is the closest thing to freedom and sustainable living I've found.
Course, it's also the closest thing to Communism, but has a healthy dose of anarchy thrown in.
I don't mind hippies. Live and let live sez I. And there's nothing wrong with anarcho-communism, so long as it's voluntary...
ReplyDeleteWe could use somebody with mechanical skills....
ReplyDeleteCome on down (or up, as the case may be)
*sigh*
ReplyDeleteDo you have any room for weary Iowa hippies? Right now your farm sounds like heaven.