Working Hard

Still a mile into town

Working hard this time of year.  Look at the pic over there of all the people queuing up to come into town.  I'd say that our population at least triples for these couple of weeks.  It's almost comical trying to change gears and all of a sudden have enough 'stuff' for everybody that drops in ... even though we're quite aware they are indeed coming.




As I lay on the floor of my Flat, recovering after my shifts during the Holidaze, I often think of the working folks that inhabited this very town over 100 years ago.  Aspen was a Silver mining town back in the late 1800's and many a men came here seeking their fortunes, or at least to look for a steady job. 

Aspen circa 1890's

                                                            


    I may have to work hard now and again, but those dudes make even my toughest day look like a picnic.  Can you imagine that kind of backbreaking work day in and day out?  Man, it's just one more thing that makes me thankful this time of year.  

It also gets me to thinking about where our society is today.  I mean in terms of obesity, food quality and lack of physical activity.  Where has it all gone wrong?  Sure, I'll bet few of us would want to trade places with our ancestors of only a few generations ago, but what has all of this technology gotten us in terms of our health?  More heart disease, more cancer, more diabetes.  We may statistically live longer (mostly due to lower infant mortality rates and sanitation) but are our lives healthier?   Are they richer and more fulfilling?  Do we have too much stress nowadays?  Are we inundated with too much information?

This is why I like the overall philosophy and direction of the Paleosphere so much.  In my opinion, it tries to tackle and answer these types of questions in a very non dogmatic and community driven way.  So I would like to take a moment while I'm doing some reflecting and sincerely thank all of those people out there who spend so much of their time and effort putting forth information and ideas that are available for anybody to peruse.  From the nerdy scientific stuff, to recipes, to practical, everyday issues - it's all good.  I raise my glass of Eggnog to everyone out there contributing in both big ways and small ... and give my best wishes for a Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year to All!