The Sky is Falling, the Sky is Falling! Maybe. Someday.

From Miss Ami:

My family has been reading Susan Beth Pfeffer's series starting with "Life as We Knew It", and I have noticed a seeming surge of similar books coming out. (The moon is hit by an asteroid, or the world runs out of oil, or the government collapses, or a solar flare wipes out technology, or the Boovs invade the earth, and life as we know it comes to a screeching halt.) Are we totally weird in that parts of those books sound like...wishful thinking?

Don't get me wrong, all that death and destruction is kind of a bummer. We still have family in California, so tidal waves would be bad, and we really like our cats and would fight any aliens who tried to take them, but...

No technology? No strong central government? Hole up in our home in the mountains, home schooling the kids and living off the land? We could live with that. Heck, I'm a stockpiler by nature, and we had five bull elk in our front yard this morning. We just have to make sure the immediate family (which includes a doctor, an electrician, and a mechanic) just happens to be up for a visit when the world goes kaflooey.

Once my teen got over the shock of imagining life without internet, she started 'planning' with gusto, making sure certain other families would be nearby, to provide future spouses for her younger siblings. Grandma up the mountain got into the act with her freshwater spring and stream, while Grandma down the mountain is planning the massive Walmart run. Daddy, a true mountain man at heart, would think he had gone to Heaven. Most importantly, Mom has the keys to the public library and access to a flatbed truck! We're set! (And no, I'm not telling you our address.)

I still felt a bit guilty about wishing for the end of the world, until I found the link to this blog, mentioned in a post at Musings of a Book Addict. See, we're normal!

Well, at least in this respect. Really, who wouldn't relish a simpler life? But, of course, we are human at the same time, and used to our creature comforts. While there are some, whole communities even, who already live the simple life, there are still far more of us who enjoy our morning cappuccino and watching "Lost" online. Still, it can be...dare I say fun?...to imagine what life would be like if the moon were indeed whacked out of orbit. Would we be among the ones to survive? Do we have what it takes in knowledge, skills and personality?

Something to ponder while I tend the flock of chickens we just purchased, and the new garden out back...