The Simple Life - Walden

I’ve always enjoyed reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  When planning this trip, I realized we’d be in the area of Walden’s Pond, so I couldn’t miss it!

To prepare for the visit, I reread the book on my Kindle.  I wonder what Thoreau would think of that?  The Kindle was made by technology and factories that he disliked.  Yet it allows one to read thousands of books without requiring all the paper of books.  Most of the books I read are available for free on gutenburg.org, yet I need the technology of the internet to download these books.  Whatever his feelings, I’ve enjoyed having these classics available to me whether I’m sitting in an airport or outside my RV.

Thoreau lived for a little over two years in a small home/shack near the pond.  He advocated a simple life and questioned the need for large houses and large closets of clothes.  He questioned whether it was worth working so many hours and years just to buy things to impress the neighbors.  Over the last few years we’ve been simplifying our life too.  While not a shack on a pond, the RV is much smaller than many homes.  Even the house we bought is small.  I love the idea of a small home with few “gewgaws” as Thoreau would say.  Cleaning our house or RV takes only a few minutes.  Yet, we aren’t ready to completely give up civilization.  TV is nice to have and air conditioning is really appreciated, especially in the hot and humid South.  

 

We saw a reconstruction of his house.  Actually, at 150 square feet, it’s not that much smaller than our RV.  Plus, he had only one person living there.  I’m not sure if the original house was as sturdy as this one, but it didn’t look bad.

We also walked around the pond to see the spot where he lived.  The pond is still beautiful, but now open as a swimming spot.  The day was gorgeous with leaves just starting to change colors,

When he lived at the pond, he wasn’t really that far from civilization.  He mentions walking into town frequently.  Concord is only a few miles away. He is buried at Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in a family plot.  The gravestone was surrounded by coins, rocks, pens, pencils, acorns, and pinecones.  Other than the coins, they all seemed appropriate for Thoreau as one of the most famous early naturalists in the United States.  Two of the stones had writing on them expressing their thoughts of him and his writing.