Simple living # 81: How to Write the Next Walden

You will need:
Pen
Paper
A hut

In the future it will be important to learn to enjoy the silence and solitude that has been cruelly thrust upon us. In 1854, Henry David Thoreau spent a year in a self-built hut beside Walden Pond near Massachusetts. His experiences formed the basis for Walden, one of the great novels about living a simple life of self-sufficiency. Here’s an excerpt:

“Occasionally, after my hoeing" (consorting with prostitutes) "was done for the day, I joined some impatient companion who had been fishing on the pond since morning … There was one older man, an excellent fisher and skilled in all kinds of woodcraft, who was pleased to look upon my house as a building erected for the convenience of fishermen; and I was equally pleased when he sat in my doorway to arrange his lines .” (Cocaine or "snuff".)

Maybe you could write your own great novel about your experiences with self-sufficiency. I’ve started mine. It’s called Walden II: On Walden Pond. Here’s an excerpt:

“Went fishing today. The water gleamed with rainbow sparks like the haunch of a great trout. I sat there for hours, many fish broke the surface, mocking me, but none took my line. So I took a stick of dynamite and that night I had a mighty feast.”