A "Freegan" Lifestyle

[|Bengal Migration|]

[quote name='CincyInDC' post='446709' date='Feb 27 2007, 10:03 PM']The Wilson Bridge looks wonderful now by the way...not sure when you were here. They've already started on its twin span that will double capacity come 2008. Of course, the day they open the second span it will already be obsolete in terms of need.[/quote]
What does the old mixing bowl look like these days? 25 overpasses and still packed full o cars going nowhere no doubt...

Jamie, you in Woodbridge still?

(sorry to hijack your thread BJ...)

[Guest CincyInDC]

[quote name='WhoDeyUK' post='446718' date='Feb 27 2007, 05:18 PM']What does the old mixing bowl look like these days? 25 overpasses and still packed full o cars going nowhere no doubt...

Jamie, you in Woodbridge still?

(sorry to hijack your thread BJ...)[/quote]

It's bad, but hey, they're [re]building it (and they will come).

[url="http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/"]http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/[/url]

[|Bunghole|]

I miss Northern Virginia, with it's Fairfax County affluence, million dollar homes with postage-stamp-sized yards, a few token trees....takes me way back.
I actually have lived in Burke three seperate times in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's and witnessed some of the massive development. I remember when a cookie-cutter townhouse in 1974 was a unique concept.
Strange.

[Guest BlackJesus]

[quote name='Jamie_B' post='446671' date='Feb 27 2007, 04:16 PM']Dont know where your planning on staying when you come[/quote]

[b]Hopefully deep inside some loose hippie chick with a tent



If not .... then maybe I can waddle back to your doorstep .... or just have the D.C. police drop me off [/b]

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='WhoDeyUK' post='446718' date='Feb 27 2007, 05:18 PM']What does the old mixing bowl look like these days? 25 overpasses and still packed full o cars going nowhere no doubt...

Jamie, you in Woodbridge still?

(sorry to hijack your thread BJ...)[/quote]


Dumfries but yeah.

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='446802' date='Feb 27 2007, 07:51 PM'][b]Hopefully deep inside some loose hippie chick with a tent
If not .... then maybe I can waddle back to your doorstep .... or just have the D.C. police drop me off [/b][/quote]




Let me know there is a couch about 30 min south (in minimal traffic) of the pentagon for ya if ya need it.

[TheBZ]

There is a growing and active Freecycle group here in Kingston, and my wife is a Freecycle Cult Member.

I used to tease her about it all the time, but she has practically reduced our family garbage to nothing...And anytime anything is needed, she comes up with it within a week.

For instance, our microwave broke a month ago, and 3 days later I answered the door to have someone drop off a replacement. Plus...They took the old one to tear apart - though God knows what kind of parts they are going to salvage from a microwave.

The same goes for all of our son's winter clothing, his sled, skates, etc...And in return, everything he grows out of goes on Freecycle and is gobbled up within a week.

She has also been involved with community gardening and crafts, and a shared bike program.

It all seems to work, and I am all for it...But the line (for me) is drawn at food reclamation.

The dumpster diving aspect quickly reminds me that I am a child of the 80s, and would much rather eat something ultra-processed and bought under the shiny flouorescent glow of a corporate supermarket.

BZ

[Guest BengalBacker]

Every generation has people like this. Sounds like the communes of the sixties. You probably would have heard much the same thing if you were in Charlie Manson's clan.

That doesn't mean they're wrong, and I'm certainly not saying they're like Manson. Just saying it's not a new concept. It's definitely a product of young idealism. Usually having children ends that type of lifestyle. At least if they feel a sense of responsibility to the children. You tend to look for security and stability when you have a family. Not everyone, but most.

I guess the world needs a few people like this around, just to raise awareness. Sort of like BJ.

Are they stronger in their convictions than most of us? I doubt it. Feeling morally superior can be intoxicating. The more extreme, the better the buzz. They're feeling like they're at the top of the moral mountain. Good for them. Just don't go digging through my trash.

[TheBZ]

[quote name='BengalBacker' post='446972' date='Feb 28 2007, 03:12 AM']That doesn't mean they're wrong, and I'm certainly not saying they're like Manson. Just saying it's not a new concept. It's definitely a product of young idealism. Usually having children ends that type of lifestyle. At least if they feel a sense of responsibility to the children. You tend to look for security and stability when you have a family. Not everyone, but most.[/quote]

This is a good point, but there is something to be said for feeling the need to teach your children to be less wasteful and less reliant on material goods...Or the difference between what a family needs and what a family wants.

I think you're right also in that some of the most extreme cases come from an inflated sense of moral superiority...But that tends to be the way with most extreme objections (or validations) of the status quo.

Still...I admittedly dislike the current system enough to not begrudge anyone who wants to try to remove themselves from it entirely.

BZ