Terry Pruitt's Blog

Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio often speaks of Wendell Berry. I have begun to read some of the interviews referenced in the Wikipedia article on him. I was surprised the variety of topics addressed by just one man. Of course the interviewer is asking questions he or she perceives is of interest to the reader of that publication. That drives the subject matter and the tone. His assessment of Wal-mart's negative influence on American local economics may be one of the better known ideas I have heard touted often. However, I find more resonance in his thoughts on work. He describes how in days gone by small farmers produced their own food and that production helped people survive in hard times. Economic problems did not cascade into the family meals if the family produced their own food. I actually saw this in operation as my grandparents and great-grandparents raised their own food, cut their own wood and worked to produce what they also consumed. To a lesser degree this was ...

My commute is okay. It means I do not work at home. That is okay. But I sometimes miss the farm life. Work and home are intermingled. I miss the connection with nature. I miss how life on the farm is integrated. It has its ups and downs. I think I miss both. However, on my commute to work I listen to Mars Hill Audio . Ken Myers loves Wendell Berry's writings. Before Ken Myers mentioned his writings, I had never heard of them. So I started searching to see what the constant references to Wendell Berry are all about. I found this poem today called The Mad Farmer Liberation Front . One of the lines in the poem says "Work for nothing". Believe it or not, I did a lot of work for nothing on the farm, but I still enjoyed it. I think I may have worked harder for nothing than I did for something at times. Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. Click here to read th...