{"id":181,"date":"2011-10-04T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-10-04T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blamming.wordpress.com\/?page_id=181"},"modified":"2011-10-04T20:00:35","modified_gmt":"2011-10-04T20:00:35","slug":"golconda","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ehomba.ro\/blamming5\/golconda\/","title":{"rendered":"14. Golconda: Stand Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Golconda Public Library Monday afternoon, 3 Oct 11 I rolled into Golconda late yesterday afternoon, found all the amenities I was looking for, and made up my mind to stand down here for a day or two. I found an attractive place to camp in a large section of hilltop woodlands on the north side of town. I could see patches of the Ohio River below, through the trees. On my way in, I encountered a couple of younger fellows coming out to hunt at dusk with their compound bows. These guys get first shot. Then the gunpowder gang rolls in. This will be a factor to keep in mind as I \u2013 now ever more cautiously \u2013 continue my eastward journey. I made common cause with the hunters, proclaiming that I was a bowman also, that I owned two take-down recurves in New Jersey \u2026 but that I\u2019d never actually hunted with them; I only shot them for target practice. They related how they\u2019d seen another cross-country cyclist on this same gravel road two weeks earlier. Evidently, there is something absolute about a good place to camp, which the eye and instinct of seasoned travelers agree upon. This morning I took it real slow and easy. For the first time in almost three weeks, I unpacked all of my bags, went through all of my gear, separated a couple more items I\u2019ll mail home \u2013 probably tomorrow from the post office across the street \u2013 together with the Nesta Webster book, which I expect to finish today, and another handful of maps. I got all my dirty laundry bundled up. Oiled my chain and tightened up my saddle a bit. I packed up all the things I\u2019d bring into town with me this morning. I took down my tent, sorted my gear and hid it carefully in the bushes. I enjoyed a leisurely meal at the town\u2019s only diner, just catty-corner here at the crossroads. After breakfast, the library was empty \u2013 except for the librarian, Maxine, a gal about my age. She\u2019s on Social Security too, but unlike me, she has a job to supplement her benefits. She and her husband also own two pieces of property in the area. Their 2-bedroom house in town is selling for around $34K. She says farmland around here is pricey, but houses in town are cheap. Maxine explained that many folks build \u201cpole sheds,\u201d also known as \u201cpole barns\u201d or \u201cstorage sheds.\u201d You can get a contractor to put one up, or do it yourself, to one degree or another. You can start with something modest and add on later. Maxine and her husband built a rather luxurious one \u2013 on land they bought out in the country 12 miles from here \u2013 for about $15K. They insulated it, heat it with a propane stove, have a decent but not excellent Internet connection. They love the quiet and solitude. Maxine described relations she visited in eastern Kentucky as a child. They fetched water in buckets from a creek. They all drank out of the same ladle. They slept on straw mattresses and could look outside through slits in the wall. She said it was a wonderful place to be, and shares my view that more than a modicum of money and fancy props have very little impact on one\u2019s ability to live happily. Maxine also appeared to understand perfectly my \u201csurvivalist\u201d outlook and my corollary interest in regions of the country such as this. In fact, Joel Skousen lists this southern tip of Illinois in his book North American Guide to Safe Places<\/em>. I didn\u2019t photocopy the page with his little thumbnail rating of this particular area, because I didn\u2019t expect to view it seriously. I\u2019d guess he gave it about a B-. I\u2019ll verify this when I get back home. It\u2019s very pretty here \u2026 good soil, friendly people. There are trade-offs in all of this. Skousen gives a large patch of the highland Rockies a straight A. But it\u2019s so far from all amenities. Water is scarce, the climate harsh. Those drawbacks are an advantage in that they act as a filter to invasive elements \u2013 e.g., what another writer has referred to as \u201cthe golden horde,\u201d desperate survivors who will flee the cities in a catastrophe, appropriating anything along their way that will keep them alive. Maxine cited relations of hers who talk and think just like I do, in terms of where we see the country going, and what\u2019s coming at us \u2013 at some point, sooner or later \u2013 just up the road a ways. I\u2019m glad I\u2019m doing this reconnaissance. I\u2019m more than ever persuaded that strategic relocation is the proper course for me \u2013 and whatever fellow travelers there are who want to share my way. As economic and social conditions worsen, the big metro areas and will engender the harshest conditions of life. Maxine and her husband pay $350 a year in property taxes on their town house and about four times that on their main, rural home. I know people in Clifton who pay more in property taxes<\/em>on their homes than Elizabeth and I pay in rent for our apartment. The government here used to tax \u201csheds\u201d very low or not at all. Then, when they got wise to the fact that people were living in them, they upped the rates. Maxine and her husband own two vehicles, a pickup and a large-sized car. Auto insurance isn\u2019t cheap. I think she said they pay $1100 per year for both cars. Insurance companies know the people out here have to cover miles to do their shopping, and there are issues with hitting deer on the road. Speaking of which, the region also draws a lot of hunters from the cities at this time of year, and a good bit of tourism generally.\u00a0 I was surprised how much traffic I heard from my hilltop perch last night, even fairly late. Golconda, with a population of around 700, has a dentist, a laundromat, a small grocery store. For major shopping, once or twice a month, Maxine and her husband drive about 25 miles north to Harrisburg, or just under 40 miles south to Paducah. The old buildings here in Golconda have a lot of charm and character. The Ohio River looks real nice, but the fellow who rang up my purchase at the grocery store said it was \u201ckind of filthy\u201d for swimming. Here\u2019s my latest load of photo impressions \u2026<\/p>\n