Cob: New photos on the house in Mauk

[Patrick Newberry]

Hey everyone.

I posted some new photos of our house in Mauk Georgia at:
http://www.gnat.net/~goshawk

I may not have been too descriptive but it's been a bit of a down time
for me. In case you didn't know, we have teenagers and without naming
any names, a certain member of our family got involved with some
marijuana which is going to result in a some legal bills which will slow
down progress on the building. I guess I'm mentioning it because in a
sense I've been so involved in this house thing and my life is so
detached from the outside world that I just never thought too much about
things like this before.  I started looking around/ thinking about the
young people in our mainly black, mainly poor area and realized almost
every young male I know has spent some time in jail. The town is so
segregated that they still have separate black and white high school
prom here in Taylor county. The young people, especially young black
males seem to have the feeling that there is no other options but jail
open to them.   I don't know what the answer is, I really don't, but I
do believe with all my heart that the answer is Not to just keep locking
up more and more young people, especially for non-violent activity. When
I talk with these young people and try to get them interested in living
a simpler life, they just tell me that that life is not them. They want
the high consumption fast life style and think of building with mud as
pretty strange. Well maybe the best I can hope for is that after a while
they will tire of that life, as I tired of my corporate job and when
that day happens I can pass on the skills of building without 30 year
mortgages, of living a life that attempts to put less strain on our
planet.  My worst nightmare is that when that moment comes they will be
behind bars. 

Love and light
Pat
Mauk,