"... I've never made a lot of money and short of winning the LOTTO, probably
never will. Wealth is not where my energy is focused," says Saunterer, like me
a deciple of Henry David ...
I can relate to that. I have no idea how many millionaires I know. I know
there are a lot of them living in a colony in my town. and, increasingly,
scattered about this town. I know that because I used to assess their taxes,
and more recently, welcomed their contributions to our land trust.
Myself. I retired 10 years ago. I owned about 43 acres of land that I had
bought for about $12,000 and the assessors think is now worth $400,000. (great
but it brings no cash, and a great deal of taxes.) I gave 23 acres to the land
trust. I could sell what's left and live comfortably in RnR's Florida. But
I've grown to like being able to launch my canoe from my shore, and the view
of the bay when the sun peaks over the peninsula in the tidal river each
morning, and the sun reflecting off the islands in the bay.
Some of our town's millionaires are great people. Some are not. REgardless, I
welcome all of their contributions. Some are smart millionaires. Some are
dumb. Some are just ordinary people like the rest of us, neither smart nor
dumb, just uninformed. When we think carefully about our message, I find a
great many of them will contribute significantly to the future of my town.
The AT is my passion. If I never walk it again, it will because I feel the
need to do as much as I can to preserve as much as I can for future
generations of a town that kicked me out of office after 12 years of
"service."
I've been reading the biography of Frederick Law Olmstead, the guy who
designed Central Park in NYC and many parks and college campuses around the
country.
I like to remember that in our tiny town (2,100 residents in the 2000
census) we have managed to save the acreage of Central Park, 800 acres, over
the past few years.
Sorry for the rambling message.
But it complies with my general rule: say whatever seems important to say,
whenever it seems important to say it.
Weary