Humanity Overload



The day before yesterday my neighbors, the only ones I like, emailed me to tell me they were going to have a moving sale and invited me to come. Yes, my favorite neighbors are moving OUT, AWAY, BACK TO CIVILIZATION. Yes, I see it as a betrayal, although I'm more envious and understanding than offended. Naturally, being the queen of garage/yard/estate/moving sales I immediately volunteered the use of my signs and tables. They said, "Bring some stuff to sell and join us!" How could I pass that up?? I had been planning a garage sale all summer, but never got around to it. Maybe I can sell a few things and lighten my materialistic load.

I have to say it was the most stressful garage sale I have ever encountered. First, they just wanted to get rid of stuff so everything was cheap. Before we even opened, people were grabbing things and bundling them for a better price...the few things I brought just started disappearing!

"So how much did you get for my silk scarf?"

"What silk scarf?"

"The one that woman is carrying away with her?"

My friend began screaming at the woman who is about ten feet away and heading to her car, "Did you buy that? Come back here! How much did you buy it for???"

I frantically whisper to her, "Don't worry about it! Not important! We'll figure it out later."

The Hispanic woman returned with her whole family in tow, embarrassed beyond belief and with fear in her eyes tried to explain in broken English she bought all of it for $32.00.

At one point my friend told Woman Number One she would save the living room set so she could run home across the street to get money, then sold it to Woman Number Two as Woman Number One was racing back up the walkway. Woman Number One yelled "You are so rude!" to my friend and stomped away. Woman Number Two returned to get more of the cushions and my friend tried to give her back her money so she could sell it to Woman Number One, but Woman Number Two said she already paid for it and most of it is in her truck, HELL NO! It's MINE!

In addition to the interesting customer service style, I tried to give my friends tips like don't use a money box, well, OK, if you must, but don't leave it unattended. Where is the money box? Are you sure you want to leave it on the table on the other side of the yard unattended? or Since there is nothing for sale in the house, don't let people in to wander around freely or you might lose your cell phone, iPod, Kindle or anything left on the counters or tables, uh, hmm...do you know those people who just walked into your living room? They were too hyperactive to listen. After a while I felt like I was babysitting grown-ups and being obnoxiously bossy so I just shut up and tried to keep an eye on everything including the merchandise which was impossible.

Good GOD! I was about to tear my hair out, but I should have expected it. As delightful as my friends are, they weren't very organized and this sale was just a means to an end. I think they might have been as happy to throw it all in the garbage. It was chaotic. I should have known. Lesson learned.

And then there were all the neighbors. A yard sale is cause for celebration in our little town so all the people I work very hard to avoid most of the year are now in my face. By 3pm nearly everything was sold and I was exhausted.  More mentally and emotionally than physically.

After the sale, I headed to the hardware store and who do I run into but the Rapist of Rathole, formerly known as the Sleazeball Construction Scammer. What a way to end the day. No, I didn't confront him. It was difficult to hold my tongue and every time I see him I feel uncontrollable rage, but I walked away without saying a word. I'm working on forgiving him and letting the universe take care of it. Still, the need to unload the stress forced me to scream what I wanted to say to him in the confines of my van. I berated and humiliated him all the way home.

By that time all I wanted to do was drag myself to safety, lock the gate behind me, lock the door behind me, and seclude myself in the isolation of my fortress. I did not want to see another living soul for at least a week and I wished I was living in the middle of forty acres...surrounded by a moat...filled with crocodiles.

Why am I telling you this story? It got me thinking if I can't handled one day of neighbors, how on earth would I be able to live in a eco-village with chemically-sensitive neighbors in close proximity? We as MCSers deal with all kinds of illness symptoms that often make us not-so-sociable and down-right-difficult a lot of the time. We are compatibility-impaired in general. Is my eco-village dream even rational for most chemically-sensitive people? Neighborly encounters on a daily basis and unable to get away from people...that sounds like my personal hell. I like my option of isolation and I'm not sure I'm willing to give it up for a fantasy.

Hmmmm....?

I'm re-thinking my MCS eco-village fantasy. After it gets built and started, I'll step away and go live on my own acreage next door!

 

By the way, the working name for my fantasy is Canary Haven Eco-Village. What do you think?

MCS Eco-Village

 

 

I want to join a MCS Eco-Village Permaculture Community. I can't seem to find one in existence, but I'm finding blogs written by people who are also interested. This is a start! I'm just not sure how to get everyone together. If I had lots of money, I'd buy the land and start building little houses..

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME!

 

 

 

 

Here is what we need:

 

Land (twenty or more acres) in a relatively toxic-free area

Power (solar, electricity, other)

Water (well)

Septic System (composting toilets, greywater recycling, other)

Tiny houses

Community building with shared facilities (eventually)

Parking area outside the community

 

MY rules: Yes, I understand we will all have decide as a community and I am willing to compromise and be flexible on some of them, unless someone wants to crown me queen and let me be the dictator.
 

I AM QUEEN. OBEY ME.

 

No chemicals allowed.

Parking in the parking area only.

No fires.

No cell phones.

Organic gardening.

Working farm animals only and kept away the from residential area.

No unsocialized, untrained, barking dogs with inconsiderate owners.

No plastic.

No buying anything from China.

No GMO foods.

 

 



I'm not sure what to do about Internet as I don't want to deal with EMFs, but I really need Internet.

 

 

Check out Corinne Segura's website called My Chemical-Free House on my list of blogs at the right. She has some great information and ideas. Her location is in Canada. I've checked...Canadians don't want Americans unless we are young, fertile and want to populate some of the more remote regions. Still, it's a great idea. If there is a will, there is a way.