On Friday 29 June, at approximately 15:45, I left the Rat Race.

I have some very big plans ahead of me, not least a determination to push our mindless, runaway wagon of self-annihilation onto an alternate path that doesn’t head off into the deep canyon. Remember Wile E. Coyote? He thought again and again that if he pedalled his feet fast enough in mid-air then he could stay above the ground, shortly followed by the fall and the distant puff of smoke. If time is the landscape then New Year 2008 is the edge of the canyon – after that it’s just thin air.

As I walked out of the office and headed back to the station, I felt an immediate sense of loss and numbness. Was I really doing this? No big deal really; my wife is a full-time teacher, and having lived a pretty frugal existance – save the organic fruit and vegetables that admittedly reflect the true cost of food, and the Google Adwords that I need to get fresh visitors to my sites – we should be able to manage.

The big deal is my change of status in the eyes of society. So, what do you do? That’s what every person and every form seems to ask.

What do I do?

I’m a writer. A thinker. A father. A campaigner. Someone who really wants to save the living planet.

The government says I’m unemployed. A scrounger. Jobless. Not working. Of no value to society.

I’m going to tick the box marked “Other”, and let them work it out.

Keith Farnish
www.theearthblog.org
www.greenseniors.org
And proud member of The Sietch