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The Hermit of Mt. Dan

Category: Life

Published on Monday, 12 July 2010 05:00

Written by Paul Roy

It was a hot day behind the dirty windshield today, but it has been for over a week now. I started thinking about my father and when he used to tell me how he wanted to become a hermit. He used to tell my sisters and I the legend of the hermit who supposedly lived across the lake on the side of Mt. Dan, a hill really but always known as Mt. Dan. I even remember a few afternoons of exploring the woods over there looking for the remnants of the cabin he was supposed to have. But back to my father.

Of course being the responsible children we purported to be, we would ask questions of him like “How will you get food?” or “What about earning money so you can pay for your cabin?” We were pretty certain the bank wouldn’t look to highly on granting him a mortgage if his occupation was listed as “Hermit”. And my Dad loved to read, in fact that was all he wanted to do, sit in his little house on the lake and read and philosophize. So we would ask “How will you get your books? How will you spread your philosophy to the world if no one knows where to find you?”

Needless to say, my father never became a hermit. But as I thought of that today, I realized in this day and age he could very well have easily become one. Think about it, with the internet you can pretty much live without ever leaving the house.

You can telecommute for work, who needs to leave the house. You have e-​mail and software which allows you to have meetings in your shorts, you can get paid without ever seeing any cash, just have direct deposit and you’re good to go.

Need groceries? Order them online and have them delivered. My neighbors do this every Wednesday. Don’t feel like cooking? Order online from a local restaurant and have them delivered. Pay your bills online, pay your taxes, pay everything without leaving the couch. You need books? There’s an app for that. Download them and read to your heart’s content. And as far as spreading his philosophy to the world? Do it the same way I do, blog.