Never Say Never

First, let me apologize. Hell froze over and I finally created a Facebook account. And I’m pretty sure this simple action broke Facebook.

It could feel my anxiety about doing it and it shut itself down. Even Facebook was like ‘Are you really sure you want to do this, Kelli? I mean, do you live on the moon? Have you read the news? We are doing really bad things. You already know this and that’s why you deleted your last account. Come on, girlfriend.’

But the ladies in of the Melide Rural Women’s Association are worth it. I’m already in contact with their leader via FB messenger and she couldn’t be nicer. I admitted my español is substandard and laughable. But Yoga can be done in any language. I know this because I did it in Valencia the week we moved there. Aspirar. Exhalar.

But this little glitch in the matrix yesterday meant we couldn’t talk to anyone. And WhatsApp is the only messaging system anyone uses in Spain. It was a quiet day.

And it got me thinking during the hours of solitude. We use the internet for everything. YouTube has taught me more than I learned in college. And ebooks in my Nook and Kindle are lifesavers. But what if there is some sort of EMP (electromagnetic pulse), like from our sun? You know, that thing that warms our planet and does a bunch of other stuff that makes life on earth viable. If that occurred, all electronics would be fried. No more ebooks. No more YouTube. Really, no more cars. But what I really care about is access to information.

We have just recently moved to this farm. We don’t know how to do tons of what we need to know how to do. I am constantly Googling and Binging to look stuff up. Just so I can understand whats involved in planting potatoes in a bag and how to harvest them. How to start composting. And how to fix my compost pile when I screw up composting. It’s a thing. Believe me.

What would I do if the information spicket was turned off? Freak out – that’s what. Then invent stuff. Probably. But then I was thinking there is a solution. Books! Actual books.

Remember those? You know, from kindergarten. Or if you’re like me – the 1980’s. When we used paper and pens. And did long division by hand. We had big text books. Or a set of encyclopedias at home. Shelved alphabetically. The good old days.

No, I’m not advocating going back there entirely. But my love of physical books is well documented. Next time we go back to the US I want to buy some books on basic farming stuff. Soil rejuvenation. How to repair a water pump. Things like that. Those things don’t really change. Owning books for simple, yet invaluable skills that will always be important to have.

You might say That’s never going to happen, Kelli. Get a grip. And to that I say ‘Did you just live through the zombie apocalypse of Covid? Never going to happen? Don’t say that.’

So if you come to our house next year, and want to bring us a gift, go cheap and practical with a How-To book. At our house you will see full book shelves. And, if you’re so inclined, you can snuggle up in front of the fire with a book on the joys of animal husbandry. Cause you can truly never say never again.