The Real Dirt

In a society that is increasingly drifting away from knowledge

of and participation in the natural foundations of our existence,

what leads someone to row against the current and willingly, indeed

passionately, plunge themselves into those rhythms of the soil, the

seasons, rebirth and decay, windfalls and crop failures, to pursue a

much simpler form of wealth that few of their countrymen can grasp

or relate to anymore? What powerful force leads such a person to

reject their culture’s version of what goals to pursue or how to be

happy? And, once they’ve done so, what happens and how do they

achieve their aberrant dreams? Is there happiness without an endless

stream of thoughtless consumption? How is our health--mental,

physical, and spiritual-- tied to the soil and what we can nurture from

it? How is a nation’s health tied to that soil and the earth’s ability to

sustain us?

This is the story of a life seemingly out of place in modern-day

America, of a baby boomer who felt the call of the 70’s back-to-theland

movement and acted on it, never to sell out those values. It

is the story of a simple but quite functional niche, carved out of a

combination of sheer imagination and solid convictions about what

was not acceptable. Th e chronological life story is interspersed with

essays on a wide array of critical issues of the day, from climate change

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to human conflict to the loss of farmland, and even to the meaning

of life. Another wonderful addition are the numerous well-chosen,

thought-provoking quotes from luminaries past and present whom

the author admires.

The author has been at the forefront of the now-burgeoning local

and organic food movements for over three decades. He has provided

a significant share of his family’s food intake from small pieces of

rural, suburban, and urbanized American land and loved doing it.

He possesses the knowledge and conviction that places him above fad

and fashion, pursuing his food-providing craft and love of the earth

regardless of what the society around him may think of his atypical

lifestyle. While local food and farmers’ markets are all the rage now,

the author’s life has revolved around such things for over thirty-five

years.

In fact, this is not an overtly odd lifestyle. Other than the

clearly more agrarian, productive purpose of his landscape, there is

nothing glaringly “counter-culture” apparent at first glance. One

aim of this book is to show that growing one’s own food or otherwise

establishing a closer bond with our life-support system is something

anyone can do and be glad they did. As our culture comes to grips

with its unsustainability, folks are hungry for ways to do their part

to turn that around. They merely need to be inspired to make those

changes and will come to quickly realize that they are healthier and

happier for doing so. The environmental and health benefits 

flow

seamlessly as one move towards greater self-sufficiency, less waste,

greater resourcefulness, less consumption, and healthier, tastier ways

of eating. This lifestyle even has its own healthy outdoor exercise

program built-in. It simply never feels like sacrifice; quite the