I'm an Athenian. Jack is a Spartan.

I missed a day of posting in my blog. Which is unusual. But it happens. Sometimes because of unwanted excitement in my life. Wasn’t a tornado. But strong, strong straight line winds. During a thunderstorm. For just a minute or two. On Sunday night. Felled three trees in my yard. One narrowly missing the house. So Monday was spent in clean-up. In the lumberjack mode. With the bulk of the hard work being done by my son Jack. Who happened to be visiting. For the first time in 10 years. That’ll teach him for showing up. Being put to hard labor. I went out and bought a new chainsaw. Used to rent ‘em. Because I had only little jobs. This was a big one. We’re still working at it. Jack has built a burning pit. So that we can get rid of a mountain of branches. Without having to haul them away. Anyway, Jack and his girlfriend like this sort of life. They were sleeping out in their tent when the storm hit. Suddenly. Blew the tent down. They didn’t have sense enough to come in. Or maybe it was they didn’t have the time. Or the desire. Jack liked the experience. He expected the rain to feel cold. But it was warm. And felt good, he said. He hauled his stuff into the garage and set up life in a storage room just off the garage. Jack doesn’t sweat the small stuff. Such as an unexpected storm and the demolishing of his tent. It really wasn’t demolished. Just had to be resurrected the next day. Jack doesn’t like living indoors. He and his girlfriend prefer the outdoors. Pioneer-style life. Living more or less hand-to-mouth. Often out of their car. They’re modern-day hippies. Even though Jack is about 50. He’s never fully grown up. Which really is a compliment. He’s his own man. Capable of surviving. By taking life one day at a time. Without the usual securities and luxuries. In a way, I gotta admire that. Jack is a true Spartan. I’m more an Athenian. I like a little more security than Jack. I have a house. I don’t wanna live in a tent. I want electricity. Lights. A nice bed. Air-conditioning in the summertime. Ready access to a computer. So I can write conveniently. Jack and his girlfriend cook their meals on a campfire. Out in the yard. Beats coming in and using the stove. Give me the stove. And an imported dinner from the deli. I love to go for walks in the woods and along a lake shore or on a mountain path. But I want to be able to spend the night in the grandeur of a lodge. Relatively safe and secure. Just in case there’s a thunderstorm and high winds in the night. Thing is, even if the weather is decent, I don’t want to have to cope with the damn mosquitoes. Once again, it’s obvious. I’m an Athenian. Jack is a Spartan. –Jim Broede