| Seven states, six days, and one interesting commune My little visit to Virginia's Twin Oaks I am a fall and winter person. For me, the only rewards of summer are that, as a teacher, I am on vacation. Otherwise, give me a January snowstorm or a brisk twilight in October any time. Going to Virginia in August may not have been the best road for me to choose, but I wanted to see Twin Oaks and I was on vacation. And so I went. Of course, I was sweating like the proverbial pig, whether I was working or not. I was lucky in that the temperature was only in the upper 80s, so things might have been worse. However, with no air conditioning there was just nowhere to go for relief. I felt like the cows that the community owns, black and white animals that were grazing every time I looked out at them, and in the hottest hours of the afternoon they would be all together, standing beneath a single tree, which may have blocked direct sunlight but provided only minimal relief. By Thursday evening, the heat was making me insane. I couldn�t stop scratching the constellations of mosquito bites, and just looking over at the thin mattress resting atop a plywood board that served as my bed made the soreness of my back even worse. I decided I would go right then. I had already said goodbye because the original plan was to leave as soon as I rose on Friday, so � as thunder rumbled in the distance and a light rain began to fall � I gathered my belongings and went to my car. The rain came down harder, but nothing would stop me, as I was firmly set on taking a nice private shower and sleeping in a motel bed that night. For the first ten minutes I drove on the small rural roads that all looked the same and led nowhere, but soon I was in Louisa at the CVS. The Coke and the Pop Tarts were delicious. I made it, through a vicious rainstorm, to Charlottesville that night. Checked into a Holiday Inn just off the interstate and got my shower and a restful sleep. The next day I went to Thomas Jefferson�s home at Monticello and then drove a different segment of Skyline Drive than when I had come down. This time I saw several deer and was able to stop my car and take pictures. I drove from 11:15 a.m. to about 8:15 p.m. and then decided to save the rest of the journey for Saturday. I checked into the Hampton Inn in Fishkill, New York, and then went in search of food. My vegetarian streak ended with a chicken calzone. Finally, on Saturday I drove the remaining four hours home to Boston. Upon my return the air here was much lighter and cooler, and that was a relief. I laughed at the many familiar sights of the mass consumerist society that I had left behind while visiting Twin Oaks. I think that the experience, as was inevitable, wore the shine off of my idealistic view of life in a community, but it hasn�t tarnished it altogether. I may have desired a Coke more than anything while on the farm, but there are much deeper issues that capitalism raises for me and I haven�t come to terms with any of them. As for the people of Twin Oaks, they are almost all very nice people who are trying to do something good. I enjoyed meeting them and learning about their home. I think that, for me, a smaller community in a more New England-like climate might have really won me over. I�ll keep my eye out for that. Until then, I�ll move on. |